God is Love
by Scooter Kitty
Summary: Mini series based. Still dealing with her illness, Roslin encounters possible help from the civilian fleet, but what will be the price of that help? Continuation of Love's Lost Children. Please see author's warning for chapt. 4.
1. Chapter 1

7/26/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 1

Jolting upright in the bed, Lee wasn't sure what had woken him up, but he was instantly alert and ready to act. Hearing a noise from within the bathroom and realizing that he was alone in the bed, he figured out what was happening. With a sigh, he pushed the blankets back and climbed out of bed. Pausing to pull on his flannel pants, he went to the bathroom door and pushed it open. Laura was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet. She had covered herself with one of his uniform shirts and her skin looked deathly pale against the black fabric.

Glancing over at him, she held a hand up to prevent him from moving any closer. "Please, leave..." she whispered.

"I'm not going to just leave you like this."

"Lee, please... I don't need you watching me throw up... Please, just go."

"No," he said, sliding his back down the door frame, to sit on the floor.

Sitting back, to lean against the wall, Laura looked at the young man across from her with a mixture of affection and exasperation. "There's nothing you can do for me," she said softly. "I know you want to save me. After all, that's what you pilots do. You fly in, shoot down the bad guys and fly off in a blaze of glory. I suppose that's a pretty addictive feeling, but you can't do that this time. The bad guys are inside of me and you can't shoot them down... I'm so sorry, Lee, I know this is hard for you, but I'm alright. I can handle this on my own. But I can't handle it, if I know that you're watching me. I don't want you to see me like this."

He had to look away from the tears that were starting to silently course down her cheeks. She was right; he had thought that somehow he would be able to save her. That somehow the force of his love alone would be enough to defeat her illness. Wasn't that how it was in all those sappy, love stories that his mother had loved so much? Wasn't that how it was supposed to be? Frankly, he was amazed at his own immaturity and naiveté. After all the death and destruction that he had seen over the past year, he should have known better. There would be no more happy endings.

Feeling her stomach threatening to rebel once again, Laura whispered, "Please, Lee, just go back to bed."

Hearing the desperation in her voice, he couldn't refuse her request and he quickly left the small room, closing the door behind him. Back in the soothing darkness of his bedroom, he lay down on the bed, listening to the muffled sound of Laura's retching. It hurt him to see the once strong and proud woman reduced to this state, hurt like a physical thing. It hurt more than he ever imagined it could and he was completely powerless to do anything about it. The fact that she wouldn't even allow him to try, only increased his feeling of impotence. Finally, too exhausted to fight them, he gave in to his own helpless tears.

* * *

"Are we keeping you awake, Captain?" Tigh asked wryly as he watched Lee Adama trying vainly to stifle his third yawn in about as many minutes.

"No, sir, sorry," the younger man said sheepishly.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?" the XO asked pointedly, a sly grin on his face.

Lee said nothing and the elder Adama glanced over sharply at his second in command. He knew that Tigh was only giving the young man a hard time. Tigh seemed to feel some proprietary entitlement to tease his old friend's son and normally this wouldn't have bothered the commander, but he had heard the rumors as well. Suspecting that there might be some truth to them this time, and that there was a reason for Lee's lack of rest, Adama felt a paternal need to protect his son. He also felt that this was not the time for the discussion. They were about to begin one of their weekly meetings with the president to discuss the welfare of the civilian fleet. At the moment, it was just the three men sitting informally in Adama's state room, but Roslin and her aide would be joining them at any moment. He really didn't think it would be appropriate for her to walk in while they were discussing, even jokingly, who Lee's latest rumored sex partner was.

Catching his superior's glance, Tigh let the subject drop and returned to reviewing the reports lying in his lap. Adama shifted his attention to his son, who was seated across from him on the long couch. He had to admit that the younger man did appear tired. Aside from the very obvious yawning, he had dark circles under his eyes.

Yes, Adama decided, there most likely was truth to the rumors. Lee had been rather conspicuously spending more time in his quarters this past couple of months and yet, frequently appeared ill-rested. Adama had his own suspicions about who the young woman was, well, perhaps it was more like hopes than suspicions. He would dearly love for Lee and Kara to get together. In his, admittedly biased, opinion they were perfect for each other and always had been. Probably more perfect than Kara and Zac had been, he thought reluctantly. In many ways Zac and Kara had been too much alike. They were bound to clash. But Lee and Kara complemented and balanced each other.

The knock on the hatch interrupted the commander's thoughts and heralded the arrival of President Roslin and her aide, Billy. The three officers stood as the woman and the young man entered. As everyone was making their obligatory greetings, Adama took the opportunity to look closer at Roslin. If Lee looked tired, then she looked exhausted. She was quite pale and appeared to have lost weight. Frankly, he thought she looked ill. He had also been hearing rumors lately that she was ill, but the proposed diagnoses of this mysterious illness varied greatly. He sighed quietly. If she wasn't going to confide in him, then he could only assume that she didn't want him to know and there was nothing he could do for her. At his gesture, everyone settled onto the couch to begin the meeting.

"Alright, I'm still hearing some rather disturbing reports about this Enoch character," Adama said, getting right down to business. "Have we been able to find out anything about him?"

"Like What? How are we supposed to find anything?" Laura asked. "We can't exactly do a background check on him... He's a priest. He's offering comfort to the people on board The Bird of Paradise. That's hardly a crime."

"No, but he's preaching to more than just the passengers of The Paradise. I've got reports saying that everyday the shuttles bring more and more civilians over to listen to him. I'm getting complaints that it's starting to interfere with day to day operations. That's an awful lot of influence for a priest."

"Yes, but again, it's not a crime. The people want to hear what he has to say. Or is that what's bothering you? He is, after all, very critical of you."

"Yes, he claims to know the location of Earth, while saying that I do not. I am concerned, Madam President, that he may attempt to incite the people against the rightful authority of this convoy, which would include you, by the way, and that is a crime."

"Yes, that had occurred to me as well," she conceded. "But I think we need to proceed very carefully. If the people believe that their basic civil rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion, are being violated, you may be making the man's case for him. Until he actually violates some law, I suggest that we play nicely with him."

Adama sighed and gave a grudging nod. "Have you actually met the man?"

"No, not yet, but I was planning to head over to The Paradise later today anyway. I was planning on taking Dr. Baltar with me. Since The Paradise's computer systems are so integrated and sophisticated, I thought I would have him take a look at them for any possible Cylon devices or viruses. I thought while the doctor was doing that, I would arrange to meet with the Prophet Enoch."

"Prophet?" Tigh asked, skeptically.

"Yes, that's what he calls himself. He claims to have direct communications with God," Laura said. "He claims that it was through one of these revelations that God showed him the exact location of Earth."

"Yeah, I heard that he claims to be able to heal people as well. You don't believe any of that crap, do you?"

Laura saw the quick look that Lee threw in her direction. "I never said I believed any of it, Colonel," she said. "I simply said that we all have the right to choose for ourselves what to believe or not to believe."

"Oh, come on, Divine revelations, Divine powers to heal, not to mention that he claims that it's our own fault that the Cylons attacked us. That they were acting as the Divine instruments of God to punish us for our wicked ways. How can anyone buy this crap?"

"We're living in desperate times, Colonel. Our people are frightened and confused. They're looking for answers, for reasons to explain why their lives have been torn apart. The Prophet Enoch, or whatever you choose to call him, gives them answers. Now, whether those answers make any sense or not, doesn't really matter at this point. As long as he delivers his statements with convincing passion, the people are, evidently, willing to listen to him."

"They're just a bunch of sheep," Tigh snorted contemptuously.

The president gave the colonel a penetrating look, her head tipped to one side. "You military types are trained to obey orders without question, without thought, like good little warriors. Doesn't that make all of you more than a little sheep-like, Colonel?"

"Alright, that's enough," Adama interrupted before the XO could respond and the argument got out of hand. "Very well, Madam President, we'll play nicely, as you put it, for now. But I would like a full report from you about this meeting. And please tell Dr. Baltar that I would like one from him as well."

"Yes sir," Laura said.

"Good, now let's move on to other business..."

* * *

Later that afternoon, as Laura and Billy were walking towards the shuttle waiting to take them to The Bird of Paradise, she noticed Lee standing beside a Viper speaking to the pilot seated in the cockpit. She noted that it was Kara Thrace. The female pilot glanced up and the two women made eye contact. The younger woman smiled and gave a quick wave. Seeing this gesture, Lee turned and saw Laura. Turning back to Kara, he said something which made her laugh. Turning away again, he walked over to join Laura.

"Madam President, may I have a quick word with you?" he asked as he approached.

"Of course, Captain. Why don't you join me in the shuttle and we can talk there. It'll be quieter."

"Um, I'll just wait here for Dr. Baltar and the shuttle pilot," Billy offered, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Once Lee and Laura were alone together on the shuttle, Lee asked, "So, I take it, from his reaction, that you told Billy about us?"

"Well, he's a perceptive young man. He was beginning to ask questions about where I was disappearing to in the evenings. So, I told him. I also thought it might be a good idea if someone actually knew where to find me in case of an emergency. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I don't mind," he said, pulling her close and lightly resting his forehead against hers. "Listen, I'm sorry about last night."

"What are you apologizing for? I'm the one who ruined the evening and kept you up all night."

"You didn't ruin anything and I shouldn't have crowded you. It's just that I needed to-."

Abruptly pressing her lips to his, she kissed him fiercely and effectively cut off his words. She didn't want to talk about last night, didn't want to think about it. And she definitely didn't want to hear his explanation. She knew that she was being incredibly selfish, but she couldn't help it. She was only just managing to hang onto her self-control these days, trying to deal with her own emotions. Adding Lee's emotional baggage would be too much to bear right now. Perhaps later, she would be able to help him work through this, but right now, she needed to look after herself. She needed him to be silently supportive, to hold her when she reached out for him and to be undemanding when she needed to be alone. She knew this was expecting a lot from him, but that was how it had to be. Whether or not he understood any of this, she wasn't sure, but when she finally released him, he thankfully didn't pursue the subject.

Instead, he asked, "Will you talk to this Enoch about the whole healing thing?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Part of me says 'why not? I've got nothing to lose.' But that would also increase the risk of my condition becoming public knowledge."

"Laura, people are going to find out soon enough anyway," he said softly.

"Yes, that is a consideration as well... I don't know. I'll decide when I meet him."

"Okay... Will I see you tonight?"

"No, I don't think so," she said, caressing his cheek with one finger. "I think we both need to catch up on our sleep tonight."

He smiled. "Okay, well then, I guess I need to make this kiss count."

Drawing her close again, he slipped one hand up to cup her jaw. He kissed her deeply, but tenderly, cradling her body gently against his, as if afraid that he might break her. Laura felt the familiar tingle run through her body at the feel of his strong body pressed against hers. While she found his tenderness and consideration endearing, part of her longed to feel more of his strength. Part of her longed for him to be more forceful with her, but she knew that he never would, particularly not while her health was so delicate. She felt a sudden flash of anger at her own failing body. Lords, what she would give to have her old strength back, so that she could fully demonstrate her desire for this young man. But she knew that her body could no longer fulfill such promises. Their lovemaking had become increasingly tame and she sometimes suspected that he was not always fully satisfied with it, but of course, he never said anything. Lords, she thought, pulling him tighter, he deserved so much better than this.

The tenderness of the moment was abruptly interrupted by Billy's voice, loudly greeting Dr. Baltar as he apparently approached the shuttle. Lee and Laura quickly stepped apart, so that when Baltar and Billy boarded the shuttle seconds later, there was nothing inappropriate for them to see.

Lee wished the president good luck on her trip and quickly departed. Dr. Baltar, apparently fully absorbed in his own world, seemed to have been oblivious to the captain's presence. It occurred to Laura that she and Lee could have continued making out right in front of the man and he probably wouldn't even have noticed.

* * *

Arriving on The Bird of Paradise, a luxury starliner, Pres. Roslin found her captain, James Adonis, waiting for her. The tall, handsome man looked as impeccable as always. He stepped forward to greet Laura and shake her hand as she disembarked from the shuttle. After introducing him to Dr. Baltar and explaining the reason for the scientist's presence, the small group left the shuttle bay.

"The prophet is expecting you, Madam President," Adonis said, gesturing to a junior officer, who was standing nearby. "Petty Officer Simpson, here, will escort you to his rooms. I'll take Dr. Baltar up to the bridge, where he can get to work, if this is acceptable with you?"

"That would be fine, thank you, Captain."

The two groups went their separate ways, Dr. Baltar and the captain, going in one direction, Laura and Billy, trailing behind the young man in the crisp blue and white uniform, in another. The petty officer led them to an elevator, which took them up several decks, to one of the upper floors, where most of the more expensive suites were located. At the president's insistence, most of these suites had been given over to families. As they approached an open doorway, the sound of many, mingling voices caught their attention.

Entering the room, Laura was immediately reminded of her days in college. The large main room of the suite was filled with people, most of them in their 20's and 30's. Every available chair was occupied and many were sitting on the floor on cushions, carrying on quiet discussions in small groups. The room looked more like a university coffeehouse than a suite on a passenger liner. The only things missing were the oversized mugs of overpriced coffee and the obligatory cloud of cigarette smoke. She half expected to see someone standing at the front of the room, reciting bad poetry.

As she and Billy entered and looked around, a man disengaged himself from the largest of the groups and began weaving his way through the other groups toward them. He was quite tall, easily as tall as Billy, and had a lean, spare build. He was wearing a pair of loose khaki trousers and a baggy, dark blue t-shirt, its hem left untucked. His feet were bare.

"Madam President, it's good to meet you at last," the man greeted her warmly, grasping her extended hand in both of his. "I am Enoch. Welcome to my sanctuary."

"Thank you," Laura said, her tone neutral. "It's good to meet you as well... Um, sanctuary?"

"Well, I don't really think of this suite as my home and all are welcome here, so I tend to think of it as more of a sanctuary."

Taking a closer look at the man, Laura was somewhat surprised that he was much younger than she had expected, probably only in his early or mid thirties. His longish, coppery-red hair was unkempt and a light scattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose gave him a disarmingly boyish look. While he was not handsome in the classical sense of the word, like Capt. Adonis, he was undeniably attractive. Laura decided that this was due in large part to his eyes, which were of a strikingly unusual blue-green color that reminded her of the vast oceans of Picon, which had been famed for that distinctive shade.

Belatedly remembering her manners, Laura introduced Billy. After the two men had also shaken hands, Enoch turned and gestured toward the group he had been sitting with. A tall, shapely young woman, with long, loose dark hair stood and joined them. She was a very pretty girl with large, expressive dark eyes.

"This is Maeve," Enoch introduced her. "She's my right hand woman, you could say. Maeve, why don't you take Billy and introduce him to some of the others, while the president and I talk privately?"

"Certainly," the girl said, turning to smile invitingly at Billy.

The young man glanced questioningly over at Laura, who said, "It's alright, Billy, go with her. I'll see you in a little bit."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he followed Maeve over to the group of young people.

"Come, we can talk in the other room where it'll be quieter," Enoch said, leading Laura into the suite's large bedroom, closing the door behind them, to block out the noise from the main room.

This room was decorated in relaxing shades of deep blue. Tasteful, but generic, artwork hung on the walls and she noted that no effort had been made to make the impersonal suite homier. There was nothing here to give a clue about the personality of the man she was facing. At his gesture, she sat in the well-padded chair, while he sprawled out on the neatly-made queen-sized bed beside it.

"So, I assume that Commander Adama sent you here to 'check me out'?" the young man said, getting right to the point.

"No, he didn't 'send' me," Laura corrected. "I don't take orders from him. But he does know that I'm here and is understandably curious about you. You have, after all, been very critical of him."

"Why shouldn't I be critical of him? He's lying to our people. He says he knows where Earth is, but he doesn't."

"And how do you know he's lying?"

"Because God spoke to me. He told me where Earth is and it was made clear to me that this knowledge wasn't given to anyone else. So, how could Adama know? ...You don't believe me, do you?"

Laura was silent for a moment before she spoke. "It is a rather unbelievable statement, don't you think? Most people who claim to speak directly to God are put in mental institutions. Can you tell me why you shouldn't be in one?"

To her surprise, Enoch simply smiled at this question. "Yes, I suppose that's the attitude most people initially have of me, but they always change their minds in the end."

"And why is that?"

"Because I can prove that I am in direct communication with God. As an example, I can heal the sick. Who else, but God, could give such a Divine power?"

"Heal the sick? And how exactly do you do this?"

"Allow me to demonstrate. May I approach you?" Enoch asked politely.

When Laura gave him a cautious nod, he stood and moved to stand in front of her chair. Closing his eyes, he held his hands, palm out, in front of her. For several long minutes he moved his hands, held about 15 centimeters out, over her body. They eventually came to rest over her chest. Opening his eyes, he looked down at her sadly.

"I understand why you came to see me now," he said softly. "You're dying."

"You can sense that?" she asked, somewhat unsettled.

"Oh yes," he said, lowering himself to sit on the floor in front of her chair. "As you probably know, every aspect of the human body is controlled by the brain. And the human brain is essentially nothing more than an incredibly sophisticated, organic computer. All of its functions, all of its commands, all of its thoughts, are basically made up of electrical impulses. All humans have a sort of electrical field which surrounds them... You know, it's amazing when you think about it. We really aren't that much different from our Cylon creations...

"Now, in my case, God has given my brain a boost. The electrical field which surrounds me is more powerful and over the years, I have learned to manipulate it. I can use it to affect the electrical impulses in another person's body. I can send out the necessary messages to that person's brain, in effect, telling it to heal itself."

"Really? And what else can you tell a person's brain to do?" Laura asked.

Enoch smiled at her. "I assure you, Madam President, I only use my abilities to help people. I am doing God's work."

"God's work..." she repeated musingly. "And what exactly is God's work? I thought you preached that God was punishing us when He sent the Cylons to destroy the Colonies?"

"He did. He punished us because, in creating the Cylons, we tried to play god ourselves. We tried to create a new lifeform in our own image. And that is His domain alone. But that punishment is over. Those of us, who have survived, must repent for our sins and show our renewed obedience to Him by renouncing the false prophet and following the true course to Earth."

"The 'false prophet'?"

"Commander Adama."

"So you're suggesting that the civilian fleet break away from the Galactica and follow you to Earth?"

"Follow me? No. I am a prophet. I am no leader of men, but you are. I would merely act as guide, but you could lead the people."

"Hmmm... If the fleet were to break away from the Galactica, how would we protect ourselves from the Cylons?"

"If our faith is true and our obedience complete, God will protect us. We will have no need for the Galactica."

"So you say... I don't know..."

"I understand your hesitation," Enoch said. "It is a very big step. And you still don't trust me, do you? You don't need to answer that. Please, let me prove myself to you. Allow me to heal you."

"I don't know..."

"Perhaps you'd like to speak to your lover before making your decision..."

"My what?" Laura asked, panic suddenly flaring in her stomach.

"Don't worry, I can't read minds. But strong emotions, such as love, can also be perceived as electrical impulses. You are in love, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said softly. "His name is Lee Adama. He's the commander's son."

Even as the words were leaving her mouth, Laura wasn't sure why she had said them. Why had she told the man Lee's name, let alone who he was? While she didn't entirely trust this "prophet", she did feel that it would be alright, that this man wouldn't betray their secret.

"The commander's son? Really?"

"Their relationship is rather strained. They had a falling out a few years back and they're still not entirely comfortable with each other." Again, she wasn't sure why she was telling Enoch this information. But for some reason, she felt the need to explain that Lee was not to be painted with the same brush as his "false" father.

"Interesting... I'd like to meet him. Talk to him... Why don't you tell him about my proposal to heal you? Talk it over with him. Come back and see me in a few days and bring him with you. Perhaps we can work something out together."

"Yes, maybe I'll do that. I'll certainly think about it... Now, I've taken up enough of your time. I'll go now," she said, standing.

Enoch rose gracefully to his own feet and escorted the president to the door. Back out in the main room, they found that Dr. Baltar had joined them. He was standing with Billy, slightly apart from the groups of chatting young people. Both men turned as the president and the prophet reemerged from the bedroom, Billy looking visibly relieved.

"Dr. Baltar, done with your inspection already?" Laura asked as she and Enoch approached.

"Uh, yes, it didn't take long. The computers are clean. The ship didn't have the corrupted navigational system and I found no evidence of viruses or devices," the doctor reported.

"Well, that's good news."

"Uh, y-yes, very," Gaius stammered. He was looking at the self-proclaimed prophet, who appeared to be staring intently at him. There was something about the man's disturbingly bright eyes that was making the scientist very uncomfortable. It felt as if the man was looking directly into his brain.

It suddenly occurred to Gaius that the man was, in fact, not looking at him at all, but just past him. Turning his head to see what had caught the man's gaze, Gaius saw his tall, blonde shadow standing slightly behind him. She also appeared to be looking past him at Enoch. Turning back to the prophet, Gaius realized that the man could see the blonde! And she was aware of it. They were looking at each other! What did this mean?

"Dr. Baltar, are you alright?" The sound of the president's voice cut into his disturbed thoughts.

"What? Oh, uh, y-yes, I'm fine," he said quickly.

Turning back to look at the blonde, he saw that she had vanished, as she so frequently did. Looking over at Enoch again, he found the red-haired man watching him placidly. Gaius quickly looked away again, flustered.

"Well, thank you for your time, Enoch." Gaius was aware of the president speaking again. "I will consider what we talked about and I will get back with you."

"I look forward to hearing from you again, Madam President."

After the small group had left, Enoch returned to the bedroom. He was no longer in the mood for company. He needed to think about the enlightening conversation he had just had. Lying down on the large bed, he put his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully. After a few minutes there was a soft tap on the door.

"Yes?" he called.

"It's Maeve."

"Come in."

Entering the room, the young woman sat down on the bed beside him. Smiling, she reached out to toy with one coppery curl at his temple.

"So?" she asked.

"I don't think Pres. Roslin is going to be able to help us as I first thought. I don't think she's quite strong enough to stand up to Adama for us."

"You're going to do it yourself? That could be dangerous."

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. It seems that Commander Adama and his son are not quite the happy family that one might imagine. And it seems that Pres. Roslin is in love with the young Adama."

"How does this help us?" Maeve asked.

"Think about it, my dear. Capt. Lee Adama could very well be the key to all of our problems. If we can win him to our cause, we can manipulate both the president and the commander."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

8/3/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 2

Reading through the reports in his hands as he walked, William Adama's awareness of his surroundings extended only far enough to allow him to navigate the hallways without mishap. It constantly amazed him that Dr. Baltar still occasionally somehow managed to get himself lost on the ship. With his own mind half occupied with other matters, Adama was still able to quickly and easily find his way to the pilots' quarters.

He had some suggestions for Lee regarding the way that the captain was rotating his pilots in their patrols. Adama would not normally become involved in such matters, but he knew that Lee was still inexperienced and was still struggling somewhat in making the transition to CAG. The young man had shown himself to be open to this father's tactful suggestions. But more importantly, it simply gave Adama an excuse to go and visit with his son. Their relationship had still not yet progressed to the point where Adama felt comfortable just dropping by his son's quarters to chat without having some pretext of a reason for the visit.

Stopping in front of the door to Lee's quarters, he knocked briskly. There was a very long pause. Thinking that perhaps the captain was not in after all, the commander was about to walk away, when the hatch finally opened slightly. Adama was quick to note that Lee's short hair was ruffled, his clothes looked hastily donned and he was being very careful to open the door only as wide as he had to, making sure that his father would not be able to see much past him.

"Uh, Commander, can I help you?"

Glancing quickly behind him and seeing that the door to the pilots' barracks was closed, Adama tried to keep the smile off his face. "Yes, I thought we could discuss the rotation of the patrols. It'll only take a minute or two. May I come in?" he asked innocently.

The commander almost laughed out loud at the sudden flush of panic that reddened his son's cheeks and widened his eyes.

"Uh, now really isn't a good time for this," Lee said quickly. "Can't it wait until... tomorrow?"

Adama smiled indulgently at his son. "You're not alone, are you?"

"Um... no sir," the young man admitted reluctantly.

"I didn't think so. Very well, it can wait. Have a good night, Son," Adama said, smiling and starting to walk away. He hadn't missed the look of complete relief on Lee's face. "Oh, and Lee?" he called, stopping to turn back to his son.

"Yes sir?"

"Tell Kara good night as well."

He chuckled at the confused look on Lee's face and gave him a quick, knowing wink, before he turned and headed back out of general quarters. Got 'em! he thought triumphantly. He had wanted to catch them in the act for quite a while now... well, not literally, in the act. But hopefully now that they knew that he knew and they knew that he didn't mind, they would stop being so secretive, at least with him. He was happy for them. He wanted them to know that as well. Sighing contentedly, he returned to perusing the reports still in his hands. He hadn't walked more than ten meters from the pilots' quarters, when he became aware of someone approaching him, coming from the opposite direction.

"Hey, commander!" a bright, familiar female voice called to him.

"Hey, Starbuck," he called back automatically, without even an upward glance. Realizing what he had just said, he stopped abruptly in the hallway. "Starbuck!" he called, turning to look at her.

"Yes sir?" she asked, stopping also. She was wearing sweatpants and a baggy gray t-shirt. Her hair was damp and she had a towel thrown over her shoulder.

"You just came from the showers?" he asked.

"Yes sir..."

"I see... Yes, well, carry on," he said, turning and resuming his walk toward his own quarters. He found that his good mood had suddenly evaporated.

* * *

The next morning, Adama was in the officer's mess. Seeing Kara sitting alone at a table, flipping through paperwork, he went to join her. Making himself comfortable in the chair opposite her, they exchanged morning greetings. Neither greeting was particularly cheerful, as the commander had much on his mind and Kara was not a morning person, especially not now that coffee was no longer available to her. They sat in easy companionable silence for a long moment.

It was Adama who finally broke that silence. "All those rumors that have been floating around the ship about you and Lee are completely untrue, aren't they?" he asked without preamble.

Kara looked up quickly, about to make some vehement comment about the rumors, but seeing the serious look on his face, she said simply, "Yes sir, they are completely untrue."

He sighed and nodded sadly. "I guess I was rather hoping that..."

"I know, sir, and I'm sorry, but Lee and I have been friends for too long. Hell, we were almost brother and sister-in-law. I just don't see anything beyond that. From what I've seen of Lee, he feels the same way."

"You know that I really did have my heart set on you becoming my daughter-in-law," he said softly.

"I know and you have no idea how much that means to me. But I really don't see it happening. I'm sorry," she said, laying a hand on his forearm.

He sighed and nodded again. "But Lee is sleeping with someone and you know who it is, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, but I'm not going to tell you. I got myself into trouble once that way and I'm not doing it again... Hey, I have a novel idea!" she said brightly, her eyes wide. "If you really want to know who Lee's sleeping with... ask him!"

Adama smiled at her sarcasm. "If only it was so simple. We both know that he'll just tell me that it's none of my business. And it isn't. I know that... I guess I just wish that he would confide in me. But he never has before, why would he suddenly start now? And, as you know, he hasn't always made the best choices... Can you at least tell me if you approve of her? And would I?"

"Yes, I approve of her," Kara answered, ignoring the other half of his question.

Noting this omission, but choosing not to comment on it, Adama said, "Well, I guess I'll have to be content with that."

"Talk to him, sir. Maybe that would put your mind at ease."

"Mmm, maybe..."

Later that evening, deciding to follow Kara's suggestion, Adama went to Lee's quarters to attempt to talk to his son. Arriving at his room, the commander found the door already partially open. Knocking, as he pushed it further open, he stepped inside. He found Lee working at the small desktop computer. The younger man looked up as his father entered and hastily stood to attention in the presence of his commanding officer.

Adama smiled and gestured for the captain to resume his seat. "Relax, Lee, this isn't an official visit. It's a paternal one," he said. "Do you mind the interruption?"

"Uh, no sir, that's fine," Lee said cautiously.

"Good," Adama said, closing the door behind him and walking over to take a seat on the bed, the only other place to sit in the small room.

Lee swivled his chair around to face his father. "What can I do for you, sir?"

The elder man sighed. Even alone together, in a closed room, Lee's cool manner toward his father was only marginally less formal than it was when they were standing on the bridge, surrounded by other officers. It seemed to Adama that no matter how many times he tried to reach out to his son, he couldn't seem to get past that impregnable shell that Lee had built around himself. Oh, their relationship was certainly less frosty than it had been a year ago and they nearly always managed to be civil to each other these days, but there was still this barrier between them that Adama wasn't sure how to scale.

He felt a pang of jealousy at the thought that his son had found intimacy with some unknown woman and yet couldn't even manage to confide in his father enough to tell him about the relationship, let alone the identity of the mysterious woman. A father shouldn't have to track his son down and demand such information, should he? Unless, of course, the son already knew that the woman in question would be unacceptable to the father, he thought uncomfortably.

Realizing that Lee was waiting for him to speak, Adama said, "I, uh, spoke to Kara this morning. We talked about you and this woman that you're obviously seeing. Don't worry, Kara didn't tell me anything. She told me that I should talk to you. So, here I am. Do you want to talk about it or her?"

"Dad, I would have told you about it, but it's not just up to me. I have to respect her wishes too and she doesn't want anyone to know."

"Kara knows," Adama pointed out, realizing that he was sounding a bit petulant.

"Yes, but I didn't tell her."

"Ah, so it's not that this woman doesn't want anyone to know, she doesn't want me to know, am I right?"

"Well, yes," Lee said sheepishly.

"Why doesn't she want me to know who she is?"

"Well, you are the commander. You have the authority to make her life difficult if you choose to."

"And why would I do that? Does she think I'm some kind of an ogre?"

"No, of course, not, she's just being cautious."

"Cautious? Or she knows that I would disapprove of her. Would I disapprove of her?"

"I don't know," Lee said evasively. "Dad, please, I don't want to have this conversation. If it had been up to me, I would have told you, but I am going to respect her wishes. I'm sorry."

A light tap on the door spared Lee from any further interrogations from his father. "Come in," the young man called out gratefully.

The hatch door swung open and Laura stepped inside. Seeing the senior Adama, she paused for a moment, but only for a moment, before recovering and saying smoothly, "Ah Commander, here you are. I was hoping to run into you. I need to speak to you and Capt. Apollo about the maintenance schedule for the fleet-."

"Uh, yes, Madam President, but I'm afraid that I have some business that I need to attend to at the moment," Adama said quickly.

He, of course, had no such business, but he truly hated discussing the maintenance of the fleet with the president. The woman could be as stubborn and demanding as a spoiled child when it came to the upkeep of 'her' ships. Lee had proven to be the much more patient mediator in this area. Somehow he seemed to be able to talk to the president without losing his temper, which was much more than either Adama or Tigh could manage most of the time. Adama hoped that Lee would not be too upset with his father for abandoning him to deal with the president. Glancing over at his son and seeing the slightly amused look on his face, Adama realized that the younger man was probably simply relieved to have the discussion ended.

"I'm sure that Capt. Apollo can help you out much better than I can," Adama continued. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I should get going."

With a grateful smile at his son, the older man quickly fled from the room, closing the door behind him. As he was about to head back out into the main corridor, the door to the pilots' barracks opened and a small, female emerged, nearly walking into the commander. She checked herself at the last moment and looked up at her commanding officer.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," she said quickly, sketching a brief salute. "I didn't know you were there."

Seeing the Pegasus patch on the shoulder of her flight suit, he recognized her as Lt. Reynolds.

"That's quite all right, Lieutenant... Uh, it's 'Mouse', isn't it?"

"Yes sir," she said, with a sheepish grin. "Uh, were you just talking to Capt. Apollo, sir?"

Having already heard about Lt. Reynolds and her tendency to speak before thinking, he decided to ignore the impertinence of her question and simply take it at face value. "Yes, I was," he answered.

"Oh, good, then CAG's in his quarters. I've been meaning to speak to him for a couple of days now, but I keep missing him."

"Well, actually, the captain is meeting with the president at the moment. Perhaps you should wait for a few minutes."

"Again?" Mouse asked, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean 'again'?"

"Well, I've noticed that Pres. Roslin seems to be spending a great deal of time in Capt. Apollo's room. I suppose that they have a lot to talk about, since they both deal with the civilian ships, but, I swear, I've seen her going into his room at all hours of the day and night. I can't imagine what they would have to discuss in the middle of the night. But, oh well, it's none of my business, I suppose," she said breezily. Glancing down at her watch, she exclaimed, "Oh wow, I didn't realize it was so late. I'm sorry, sir, I have to go or I'll be late for my patrol. Good evening, sir." Without waiting for his dismissal, she headed out into the main corridor.

Adama watched after her for a minute, trying to ingest the flood of her words. One thing she had said did stick out quite clearly in his mind; Roslin frequently visited Lee in the middle of the night. Turning back to glare at Lee's closed door, the commander knocked sharply. The pause that followed was probably not excessively long, but to the already suspicious Adama, it seemed like an eternity. And when Lee finally opened the door, his father was quick to note that the young man's uniform shirt was now partially unbuttoned. Glancing past Lee, he saw that Roslin had removed the jacket of her burgundy suit.

At any other time, Adama admitted to himself, he would probably not even have taken notice of these small departures from proper dress, but after his conversation with Mouse and knowing full well that not five minutes ago, both Roslin and Lee had been fully dressed, he found that his paternal anger was becoming aroused. Pushing the door further open and brushing past Lee, Adama entered the room. Recognizing the look in his father's eyes, the younger man said nothing but closed the door behind them.

"So, what exactly was it that you came here to discuss with my son?" the commander asked, addressing Roslin quietly.

"I think you know why I cam here or you wouldn't be asking," she said calmly.

"So, you're the one that Lee's been sleeping with? It's all over the ship, you know."

"Yes, I am. I suppose you have a problem with this? With my age?"

"With your health," Adama corrected.

"And what do you know about my health?" Laura asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It's a small ship, secrets are hard to keep. It's been noted that you've been spending a great deal of time in Life Station. You've lost weight recently, more so than the rest of us. Your health isn't good, is it?"

"No, it isn't," she confirmed, matching his calm, dispassionate tone. "I have cancer and Lee is perfectly well aware of it."

Without so much as a glance at Lee, Adama asked, "And you would begin a relationship with my son, knowing full well that it will only cause him pain?"

"Excuse me," Lee interrupted indignantly, "but do I get to take part in this conversation or should I just leave you two to continue this without me?"

The commander glanced back, casting an irritated look at his son. He had to admit that he would have preferred to have the discussion without Lee being present, but it was too late for that. And he couldn't exactly ask Lee to leave his own room.

"There are two of us involved in this relationship," Lee continued, stepping around his father to stand beside Laura. "And it wasn't all Laura's instigation. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions."

"That may be," Adama said, "but she should never have let it get to this point. She should ha-."

"Stop blaming her!" Lee snapped. "She tried to end it. I was the one who pushed for it. So, if you want to get angry with someone, get angry with me!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Laura said quickly, hating the fact that she was the cause of this additional strain on the two men's already dysfunctional relationship. "Commander, I'm sorry that you don't approve of Lee and I being together, but your disapproval won't change anything."

With a sigh, Adama turned away from Roslin to attempt a last appeal to his son. "Lee, I'm not trying to manipulate your life." He chose to ignore the scowl and derisive snort this statement provoked from Lee. "I'm trying to protect you. This relationship is only going to end in heartache for you. Haven't you seen enough death and pain? Must you go out of your way to subject yourself to more? How can I ignore this? How could I call myself a good father if I didn't try to keep you from getting hurt?"

"How can you call yourself a good father at all?" Lee spat vehemently. "You were never even there! You never gave a damn about what went on in my personal life before. I don't know why you suddenly think it's your business now. It's a little late to suddenly decide you want to start playing daddy, don't you think?"

Adama stepped back from the venom in his son's words as if Lee had struck him a physical blow. The words had wounded him deeply; as he was sure they had been meant to. Without another word, he turned and left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind his father, Lee felt all the anger drain out of his body, leaving him feeling completely exhausted. Why, the hell, couldn't he control his mouth around his father? He had always prided himself on his ability to control his emotions, but somehow, whenever his father was involved all of that careful control seemed to go right out the window. With a sigh, he sank down on the edge of the bed. Laura sat down beside him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly.

"What are you apologizing for? You were the only one behaving like an adult."

"I was the cause of the argument."

"No, he was the cause," Lee said. "He has no business interfering in my personal life. Granted, I shouldn't have reacted that way, but Lords, the man gets under my skin!"

"Perhaps the two of you are simply too much alike."

"What?" Lee asked, turning to her, his expression incredulous. "I am nothing like him!"

"Yes, you're right, nevermind," she said quickly, kissing him in order to distract him and hopefully avoid causing a second argument.

* * *

The next afternoon, since Lee had the entire day off, he and Laura went to The Bird of Paradise to speak with Enoch. They found the prophet seated on the floor of the main room of his suite. He was sitting cross-legged, with his eyes closed and seemed to be meditating. It was his assistant, Maeve, who had opened the door for them. She put a finger to her lips and gestured to the priest.

"The prophet will be with you in a moment," she said softly.

Laura nodded and she and Lee stood silently, awaiting their audience. There was no one else in the suite today and Laura wondered where all of the prophet's little followers had gone to. Looking at Enoch, she noted that he was wearing the same pair of wrinkled, threadbare khaki trousers and, today, an equally disheveled, white dress shirt, its tails left untucked and the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. She glanced over at Lee, who was looking around the room with interest, his blue eyes taking in everything.

They were only waiting for a few minutes, before Enoch opened his eyes and smiled at them. Rising gracefully to his feet, he crossed the room to meet them. Taking both of Laura's hands in his, he bent and kissed both of her cheeks. After she had introduced Lee, the priest shook the younger man's hand and greeted him warmly. Watching them, Laura was struck by the picture of contrasts the two men presented. With his unruly, longish hair and perpetually unkempt clothing, Enoch had more the look of a shabby, distracted university graduate student, than a priest. While Lee, with his close-cropped hair and flight suit, looked, as always, every inch the proper Colonial officer. And yet, despite their differences, the two men also had their similarities. Both were physically attractive and both possessed that indefinable quality that drew and held one's attention.

Turning his attention back to the president, Enoch asked, "So, have you come to allow me to heal you?"

Glancing over at Lee, she held his gaze for a long moment before she answered, "Yes."

"Come, let's move into the bedroom. We'll be more comfortable there. Would you like to be present?" Enoch asked Lee.

"Yes," the younger man answered immediately.

"You don't trust me, Captain?" the priest asked, with a smile.

"I-It's not that... I just..."

Enoch said nothing, but his eyes moved down to the sidearm holstered around Lee's waist. The young warrior shifted uncomfortably.

"It's alright, Captain, I understand," the priest said, after a moment. "You don't know anything about me and you don't want to take any chances with the president... the woman you love."

Lee looked over sharply at Laura. "It's alright, Lee," she said softly, laying a hand on his forearm.

"Please, Captain," Enoch said. "I understand and accept that you do not entirely trust me, but in order for this to work, there must be some degree of intimacy between all of us. Will you at least trust me with this knowledge and with your lady's health?"

After a long look at Laura, Lee gave a tense nod. She smiled at him and squeezed his arm, which she still held. The three moved to the bedroom. Enoch instructed Laura to remove her shoes and the jacket of her suit, so that she would be more comfortable and told her to lie on the bed. Lee perched himself on the low dresser across from the foot of the bed, where he would be out of the way, but would have a clear view of all the proceedings. Enoch took up station beside Laura.

"Alright, I want you to close your eyes and try to clear your mind... relax," he told her, carefully moderating his voice to a low and measured tone. "I want you to focus on your illness. Try to visualize it in your mind. Picture it slowly retreating, shrinking, and gradually disappearing all together... Now, don't worry, I will not touch you at all, so you can concentrate all of your energies on healing. I will not distract you."

While Laura followed his instructions, he stood still for a moment, his own eyes closed, centering himself. He took several deep, even breaths then extended his hands, palms out. He held them about 15 centimeters above Laura's body and began moving them in slow circular patterns. Although the patterns seemed to be concentrated over Laura's chest area, his hands moved over her entire body. He started at her feet and traveled slowly towards her head, frequently doubling back over her chest. These graceful, intricate hand movements lasted for nearly a half hour and towards the end of that time, sweat had begun to bead up on the priest's forehead, a testament to his intense concentration. He ended the session by holding his hands over the president's head for several minutes.

Opening his eyes, Enoch dropped his hands and stepped back from the bed. "You may open your eyes now, Laura," he said softly.

As she did, Lee moved quickly to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Tired," she said, in some confusion. She hadn't done anything except lay there, why should she feel so tired?

"Yes, that's normal," Enoch said. "I've jumpstarted your body's natural healing processes and it's now working hard to heal itself. You should lie there and rest. Captain Adama, why don't you join me in the other room? She'll probably sleep for a while and she'll be perfectly safe."

Lee looked back at Laura with a questioning glance. "I'll be fine, go ahead," she said sleepily.

Turning back to Enoch, Lee said, "I'll join you in just a minute."

"As you wish," the priest said, with a slight smile.

After watching the other man leave, Lee turned back to Laura. "What happened? Did you feel anything?"

"It was the strangest thing. It felt like a very low voltage electrical current passing through my body."

"Did it hurt?"

"No, actually, it was rather pleasant. It felt sort of like those vibrating beds you find in cheap motels, make you feel."

Lee smiled at the analogy. "Are you sure you're going to be alright in here alone?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm, I'm just going to sleep for a minute," she mumbled. Her eyes were already closed and her speech was slightly slurred.

"Okay. I'll just be in the next room, if you need anything."

"Mmmhmm..."

She was already half asleep and he wasn't sure if she had heard him or not. Standing, he went to join Enoch in the main room of the suite. The prophet was seated at a small, circular table with Maeve. There was an ornate tea service set in the middle of the table.

"Please join us for some tea, Captain," Enoch said, gesturing to the empty third chair at the table. "It will help pass the time and we can talk."

As the pilot slid into the chair, Maeve poured the dark beverage for him and handed him the cup and saucer. Lee accepted it gingerly. He was accustomed to handling sturdy, military-issue, metal mugs, not these delicate pieces of ceramic. He quickly set them down on the table, lest he drop them.

"I'm afraid I can't offer you any milk or lemon for your tea, but we do have some sugar," the young woman said.

"That's alright, this is fine." Lee wasn't a big fan of tea, so it really didn't matter how it was dressed up. He was only drinking it now to be polite.

"I can see from your expression that you have questions, Captain. Please, feel free to ask them," Enoch said.

"Is she going to be alright?" Lee asked, with a glance toward the bedroom. "Did the healing thing work?"

"It's hard to say, at this point. Her cancer was advanced, but I believe I have made a difference. She may need additional sessions. We'll just have to wait and see how her body responds."

"How long will we have to wait?"

"Not long. If, indeed, I have made a difference you should start seeing some improvement fairly quickly. One of the things my healing energies do is stimulate the increased production of beta-endorphins, which will in turn, activate the so-called Natural Killer cells, which are known to attack cancer cells... So may I assume from your questions that you now believe in my abilities?"

"I don't know," Lee said evasively. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

"A sensibly cautious answer."

They sat in silence for a moment, contemplating each other. Enoch was watching the younger man unabashedly, while Lee sipped his tea, feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable under that direct and obvious scrutiny. After several, long minutes, Maeve rose from the table, distracting the two men.

"If you two will excuse me, I have other duties to attend to," she said.

"Of course, my dear, enjoy yourself," Enoch said, smiling at her.

After the girl had left the suite, Lee asked, "What other duties does she have?"

"Oh, she organizes our prayer meetings, keeps everyone up to date, and greets new potential converts arriving at the shuttle bay. She's my secretary of sorts. I don't know what I'd do without her. I'm afraid I'm not the most organized of people."

"I suppose you have more important things to be concerned with, like your next chat with God."

"Sarcasm is not an effective tool for influencing others," Enoch said, pointedly.

Lee sighed. He hadn't intended to sound quite so cynical, but he was tired and edgy. The argument with his father had affected him more that he had first thought. "You're right," he said, with sincere contrition. "That was uncalled for. I apologize." He looked away, absently rubbing his stiff, sore neck muscles.

"You seem very tense."

"I haven't been sleeping very well. I'm worried about Laura and I got in an argument with my father the other day. We haven't spoken since..." Why, the hell, am I telling this man such personal things? Lee thought to himself, allowing his voice to trail off and determining to reveal nothing more.

"You seem to be favoring your neck and shoulders. I can help ease your tension."

"No, that's alright, thank you," Lee said quickly.

Enoch smiled. "I wasn't proposing to use my healing abilities. I was simply going to suggest a shoulder message. A good message can also stimulate the production of endorphins, which are the body's natural painkillers. I give very good messages."

"Uh, I'm fine, thank you anyway." Lee had always been a very self-contained person and he had never been entirely comfortable with other people touching him, not even friends or family. When he was a child, it had always bothered his very tactile-oriented mother that he would frequently squirm away from her constant hugs and kisses.

"Oh, come now, Captain, I promise that you'll feel better."

The young pilot sighed. It appeared that Enoch was not going to give up. Reluctantly standing, he moved from the table to sit on the long couch the priest had indicated. Enoch sat down beside him and gestured for the younger man to turn around. Lee obeyed, but he felt a slight tingle of apprehension along his spine. As a warrior he had been trained never to turn his back on a potential threat. When Enoch placed his hands lightly on the younger man's shoulders, Lee flinched noticeably.

"Relax, Captain," the priest said, with a chuckle. "I promise I won't hurt you."

Lee said nothing, just concentrated on the hands that had begun pinching and kneading the tense muscles of his upper back and shoulders. The young man tried not to dwell on the fact that those busy hands belonged to a man. While he was not overly homophobic, Lee had never allowed another man, outside of the medical profession, to touch him in such an intimate manner. He was not entirely sure how he felt about it.

"You don't trust me, do you?" Enoch asked.

"Should I? You've made it perfectly clear that you don't approve of my father or the military, in general."

"Fair point," the priest responded amicably. "May I call you Lee?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Thank you. May I tell you about my visions? It might help you to understand us better and perhaps allow you to see our side."

"You mean, it might allow you to turn me against my father?" Lee asked, throwing a slightly belligerent look over his shoulder.

"Peace, Lee," Enoch said in a conciliatory tone. "I'm not trying to manipulate anyone. I'm merely trying to open their eyes. I understand your hostility, but will you at least hear me out, before you close your mind to my views?"

"Fine, go ahead." The hands working at his muscles had not paused during this exchange and Lee had to admit that it was starting to feel good, now that the initial painful knots had been induced to relax. He was almost inclined to let the priest talk, just to keep the hands moving.

"Several months ago," Enoch began, "shortly after the destruction of the Colonies, God came to me in a dream and showed me a solar system made up of seven planets. I was made to understand that all of these planets represented Earth, but that only one was the true Earth.

"Now, the Thirteenth Colony, led by the Kobolian Lord Adam, all those centuries ago, eventually came to this system and settled on the sixth planet. Later, the Colonists began to refer to their new home as Adama, after the Lord who had led them there."

"So, this was the true Earth?" Lee asked, trying to follow along, intrigued, in spite of himself, by the reference to his own family name, which was a very uncommon one. He had, of course, heard the story about the Thirteenth Colony setting off from Kobol, led by the Lord Adam and his beloved wife Eve, to try and find the legendary blue-green planet called Earth, but the rest of Enoch's story was new to him.

"No, it was not the true Earth," Enoch said, softly. "You see, on Adama, the Colonists soon found themselves falling under a strange illness. They became depressed and eventually they began warring among themselves. They turned from the path of God. It was a false Earth. This is the Earth your father will lead us to, because he is a false prophet. Do you honestly think it a coincidence that their names are the same?"

"Well, that is my name too," Lee pointed out. "Are you saying that I'm also false?"

"Not at all. You have now heard the truth and soon you will see it as well. You see, back on Adama, eventually a young man called Noah, a direct descendent of the Lord Adam, was given a vision from God, revealing the location of the true Earth. He gathered up as many of the Colonists as he could and they fled from Adama to the seventh planet in the system, one they had previously referred to as Eres, but which was in fact, the true Earth. Shortly after the Colonists had fled from Adama, those that had remained were wiped out by a terrible flood, sent by God to cleanse those that had turned from the path of righteousness.

"Do you see, Lee? You, like Noah, are a direct descendent of Adam. And also like Noah, you will lead us to the true Earth, not the false Earth your father would take us to."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Lee asked, distractedly. "I have no idea where Earth is. I'm not even sure I believe that it exists."

One of Enoch's messaging hands had moved up to his neck and was partially supporting Lee's head. The younger man was now so relaxed that he was leaning heavily against that hand. The priest had been speaking in a very soft, low voice which had quickly lulled Lee into a sort of half-stupor. His sluggish mind had only been half-following the man's convoluted theology.

"Don't worry, you will. I am confident that God will speak to you very soon. You will lead us to Earth."

"But you're the prophet. God has already shown you the way to Earth. Why would He need me?"

"He has shown me the solar system, but I am not a navigator or a pilot. I am a prophet, a spiritual guide. You are a leader of men. You will lead us and I will be the guide. Together, we will take our people to Earth."

Enoch had whispered these last words into Lee's ear. Drifting in a sort of mental fog, the captain abruptly returned to full alertness and jerked away from the other man. Quickly standing, he glanced down at his watch.

"Uh, i-it's late. I need to get back to the Galactica," he said.

"You look exhausted, Lee. Why don't you just stay here for the night? Laura's already asleep. Why wake her? The two of you can take the bed a-."

"No, thank you," the captain interrupted. "If we don't return to the Galactica, it could create problems."

"Ah, your father would become concerned?"

I seriously doubt that he would even notice my absence, Lee thought sourly. "No, it's not that," he said. "But the ground crews are very protective of their shuttle and I have to be on duty early tomorrow and..."

"Very well, I understand," Enoch said with a smile, as he got to his feet. "Let's go wake the president."

Laura was slightly groggy, when they woke her, but refreshed. She agreed with Lee that it was necessary for them to return to the Galactica and they quickly took their leave of the prophet, thanking him for his time and effort. After they had gone, the priest lay down on the long couch to rest and meditate on his conversation with the young pilot. It had not gone as well as he would have liked. He needed more time with the captain. Lee had shown some interest in the story of Earth, but not nearly enough. Yes, he needed more time and perhaps... more drastic measures. Lee Adama was the key to gaining control over the fleet. The plan was already worked out and one way or another he would play his part.

To be continued...

-Author's note: the stuff about the seven earths, one being called Adama and another called Eres, actually came from The Kabbalah. Now, obviously I modified it to fit the context and... because I didn't understand it either. There are Rabbis who spend their entire lives studying The Kabbalah, like I'm going to understand it from one reading, especially since I got this from a secondary source.


	3. Chapter 3

8/23/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 3

Arriving back at the Galactica, Lee assumed that Laura would want to return to her own room and sleep, but she seemed to have perked up during the short flight back. Instead, she chose to follow him through the halls, to his quarters. It was late enough that they encountered very few people in the corridors and they were not observed entering Lee's room. As soon as the door was closed behind them, she made her move, pressing herself against him and kissing him deeply.

Caught by surprise, he stumbled back against the wall. He felt her hands fumbling with the buckle of his sidearm belt. Sliding her hand down his right thigh, she undid the strap which secured the weapon there. Once she had the belt free from him, she moved to toss it aside, but Lee pulled from her kiss and caught hold of the belt.

"Uh, let's be a little more careful with that," he said mildly, moving to place it on his desk. "It's loaded."

"Sorry," she said softly, before reaching for the zipper of his flight suit.

"Laura, what are you doing?" he said, with a chuckle, catching hold of her hands. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm not tired anymore and I'm feeling much better." Sliding a hand up to grasp the back of his head, she pulled him into another kiss.

"Mmm, you are feeling better," Lee said, several minutes later.

She gave him a seductive smile and unzipped his flight suit. Pushing it off his shoulders, she began kissing him again, while he kicked off his boots and stepped out of the suit. He was left wearing only the two regulation tank tops and a pair of close-fitting boxer briefs. Taking his hand she started to pull him toward the bed, but he didn't move. She turned back to face him.

"Laura, are you sure you're up to this?" he asked. "I don't want to rush you into anything."

"Who's rushing whom here? Lee, I'm not made of glass. I won't break if handled a little roughly. I might even enjoy it. I feel fine... Are you up to this?"

In answer to her challenge, he bent down, hooked one arm under her knees, placed the other on her back and scooped her off her feet. Carrying her the few steps to the bed, he gently deposited her there and climbed in beside her.

"Well, I guess you are," she whispered.

100101001100001111000001010011001000011000111

Lee was walking through the corridor, talking with one of his pilots, Alice "Mara" York. Lt. York had recently learned that she was pregnant. She had been removed from the flight rotation and she and Lee were discussing other duties she could perform while grounded. He was so engrossed in this conversation that he didn't notice his father approach, until the other man had stepped in front of him and addressed him.

"Capt. Apollo, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but may I have a word with you, when you and the lieutenant are finished?" Adama asked.

"Uh, of course sir," Lee answered. This was the first meeting of the two men since their argument two days ago.

"Well, actually sir, I think we've covered everything, for now anyway," Lt. York spoke up. "I can get started on those Viper maintenance reports right now. That should keep me busy for a couple of days, as least."

"Alright, let me know when you finish with that and we'll find something else for you to do."

"Yes sir." Saluting both of her superiors, York headed off towards the hangar deck.

"Sir?" Lee said expectantly, turning to his father.

"Let's take this to my office. We'll have more privacy there," Adama suggested.

The captain gestured for the older man to lead the way. Great, he thought with a sigh, if this is going to be a conversation that requires privacy, I'm not sure I want to have it. Arriving at his father's quarters, they stepped inside. Adama took a seat on the long couch and gestured for Lee to do the same. Reluctantly, the younger man sat down on the couch opposite. The two men sat watching each other warily for a few minutes.

"I happened to be looking at the shuttle flight logs this morning and I saw that you and the president made a trip to The Bird of Paradise yesterday," Adama began.

'Happened' to be looking at the shuttle logs? Lee thought to himself. Since when does the commander peruse the shuttle logs? Doesn't he have more important things to do?

"Uh, yes sir, we did," he said out loud, waiting for his father's next comment, which he felt certain would have something to do with the inappropriateness of the CAG playing shuttle pilot for the president. He was surprised when that comment didn't come.

"Did you meet with Enoch?" Adama asked instead.

"Yes, we did."

"And? What was he like?"

"Didn't the president give you a report about her first meeting with him?"

"Yes, she did. Now, I'm asking for your impression."

"... He was intelligent, open, honest... likeable."

"Likable..." Adama repeated, musingly. "Did you speak with him much?"

"Yes, we had a rather long conversation."

"About?"

"His beliefs, his visions..."

"And...?"

Lee repeated what he could remember of the complicated theology that Enoch had outlined for him. He left out the part where the prophet had claimed that Lee would lead the fleet to Earth. He wasn't sure why he omitted this information, but as it turned out, it didn't matter. Adama figured it out himself.

"I suppose that 'the prophet' told you that you would assume the modern role of Noah and would lead the people to Earth?" he asked.

"Yes, he did. How did you know?" Lee asked.

"Because that's how these kinds of cult leaders operate. They draw people in by promising them that they will play a vital role in their upcoming plan or, in this case, prophecy," Adama said scornfully. "They deliberately target those they believe are unsure of themselves and their place in the world. People with feelings of inferiority..." He let his voice trail off as he realized how Lee must be interpreting these words. "Lee, I didn't mean to imply that you were any of those things, only th-."

"Didn't you?" Lee interrupted harshly.

"Lee, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded... We're all vulnerable right now, any one of us could be open to manipulation, but yes, I do think the man is deliberately targeting you."

"And why is that? Because I'm weak and vulnerable?"

"No, I believe he wants to use you, to get at me."

"Ah, of course," Lee said, he voice dripping with sarcasm, "because no one could possibly show an interest in me or my abilities, could they? No, of course not, because I exist solely as an extension of you!"

"That's not what I meant. Damn it, Lee, stop twisting my words!"

"Fine, what is it that you're trying to say?"

"... Just be careful. Our strained relationship plays into his hands and it does make you vulnerable to his manipulations. Please, don't trust this man. He has his own agenda and until we figure out what it is..."

"His 'agenda' is to find Earth. I thought that was yours as well. Why aren't the two of you working together to achieve this common goal?"

"That's a very good question. Why don't you ask him that? He's the one who has done nothing but attack me. And I have done nothing to provoke these attacks on my character."

"No, but you haven't exactly been defending yourself either. Why is that?"

"I shouldn't have to defend myself."

"That's not really an answer." Lee sat for a long moment, staring at his father, before he said softly, "Answer this for me and I'll believe everything else you have to say. Do you really know where Earth is?"

Adama stood abruptly and walked to his desk. He stood in front of it, his back to the younger man. He couldn't admit the truth to Lee, but he couldn't look his son in the eyes and lie to him either.

"I'm not going to answer that question," he said softly, resolutely keeping his back to Lee. "You have no right to question me about that. Now, this conversation is over. You're dismissed, Captain."

The young pilot rose to his feet, but stood for a moment staring at his father's broad back. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he said softly, turning to leave, the clear disappointment in his voice like a slap to Adama's face.

Hearing the hatch door close behind him, Adama let his shoulders sag as he leaned heavily onto the desk. Damn, he had completely botched that conversation. He had intended to warn Lee against placing any trust in Enoch and instead, he had confirmed the man's accusations. Lee will probably never trust me again, Adama thought numbly. And that also plays right into Enoch's hands...

Out in the corridor, Lee leaned back against the bulkhead wall and tried to figure out how, yet again, he had allowed his temper to ruin a perfectly reasonable conversation with his father. He was always very defensive around his father, but in this instance, he truly didn't know why. Why had he so vehemently defended Enoch? He had had many of the same reservations about the man as his father, so why defend the priest now? Lee recognized that it was because Enoch's 'healing thing' with Laura did seem to have made a difference. Lee and Laura had had great sex for the first time in months and Lee had felt somehow indebted to the priest for that. But that was hardly an adequate justification for the hateful things he had just said to his father.

Lee rubbed his temple. He was so confused right now. He didn't really know how he felt about the priest. Every logical thought in his head told him that the man's story was ludicrous. And yet, somehow, the man had a way of making you feel like anything was possible.

Giving his head a slight shake, as though to clear out all these contradictory thoughts, he started down the hallway again. He and Laura were going back to The Paradise to see the priest again. Laura was going to have another healing session with him. Lee would question Enoch more directly then.

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The second healing session had progressed very much the same as the first one. Again, Lee had watched as Enoch ran his hands above Laura's body. And afterwards, she had slept. While she did, the priest had again taken Lee out to the main part of the suite and they had drunk tea and talked about Laura's prognosis. Enoch had claimed that he was already sensing improvement. Her body seemed to be healing itself quite nicely.

Once again, none of the other believers were present in the suite. This time, not even Maeve was there. As the two men sat drinking their tea, Lee began to feel incredibly sleepy. After only an hour or so, he found that he was having difficulty even keeping his eyes open.

Noticing this, Enoch said, "Lee, why don't you lie down on the couch and rest as well. Laura will probably sleep for another hour, at least."

"No, no, I should-."

"Nonsense, you can barely stay awake. How will you fly your shuttle back if you can't keep your eyes open?"

Realizing that the other man had a point, Lee allowed the priest to lead him to the long couch where they had talked before and he lay down. He was too tired to feel self-conscious or uncomfortable about sleeping in a strange place or to wonder what Enoch would be doing while he slept. In fact, he was deeply asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow of the couch...

Images flashed before his sleeping mind's eye. He saw a barren, blighted landscape. He saw mile after mile of withered, dead crops, the bloated corpses of animals and even some humans. He saw people scrabbling in the dusty, parched soil, trying to salvage any edible, growing thing they could find. He saw mothers cradling dead or dying babies, groups of people begging for food, and finally, large bands of people attacking each other, ripping each other apart in frenzied desperation...

The disturbing images faded, to be replaced by stars sliding silently, calmly through his field of vision. It was as if he was flying through space, but without his Viper, without his body. He saw planets and moons and distant solar systems glide past him, most of which looked familiar. He was seeing a quadrant of space that they had already explored and which Adama had rejected for their course.

Abruptly Lee felt a sharp stab of white-hot pain, as if his head was going to explode. Into his mind flashed an image so intensely vivid, it seemed to burn itself into the synopses of his brain. He awoke with a moan, sitting up to clutch at his head, checking to make sure that it hadn't actually been split in two. He found that an area on his left temple was quite tender to the touch and felt slightly swollen, as though he had been struck there.

"Lee, are you alright?"

He turned to find Enoch kneeling beside the couch, watching him anxiously. The pain in his head was beginning to fade, but the image was still clearly etched in his mind. He took a deep, shaking breath before answering the priest.

"Yeah, I think so," he said weakly. "I just had the weirdest dream."

"Tell me," Enoch urged.

"I saw people dying, starving to death. Then they were killing each other, ripping each other apart... Then I saw stars, like I was flying through space. I saw the quadrant that we just explored a few weeks ago. Then I saw a star chart. I still see it. It's like someone has drawn it directly into my brain..." Lee let his voice trail off as he lowered his still slightly aching head into his hands.

"A star chart? A chart of what?"

"I don't know," Lee whispered. "There was a solar system with seven planets. The seventh one was a blue-green, M-class..."

"Draw it for me, please."

The priest stood hastily and went to fetch some paper and a pen. When he returned, he handed the items to the younger man and Lee quickly sketched out a crude version of the star chart that had been burned into his mind.

"Earth," Enoch said firmly, examining the drawing.

The pilot looked up at the priest. "How do you know it's Earth?" he asked.

"Because it's obvious that God has given you this revelation. He has shown you the same solar system that He showed to me, but you understand the star chart. He has proven that you are the one to lead us. It is a miracle, Lee!" Enoch said, grasping the younger man's shoulders, smiling broadly.

Lee returned the smile weakly. He wanted to share the priest's enthusiasm, but he kept hearing his father's voice, warning him to be cautious. "A miracle, Enoch? I don't know..."

The smile evaporated from the other man's face. "You've been talking to your father, haven't you?"

"Well, yes..."

Enoch sighed heavily. "He is trying to manipulate you, trying to prevent you from assuming your rightful role."

"Actually, he told me that you would try to manipulate me."

"Yes, he would say that, wouldn't he? He is false. You have just been shown proof that he was lying about knowing where Earth is. God has shown you that. You must not trust him."

"Maybe he doesn't realize his information is wrong. Maybe if you talked to him. I can't just accept what you're saying. He is my father."

"Yes and look at what he did to your brother..."

Lee's eyes narrowed at those words. "What do you know about my brother?"

"I know that he didn't die in the Cylon attacks. He died in a Viper accident. Wasn't that how it was? I have many followers, a few even from the Galactica. They told me about your brother."

"Yes," Lee whispered.

"Yes. Your father pushed you and your brother into the service and then into the Vipers. He sacrificed your futures to feed the glory of his own reputation and your brother paid the price of that sacrifice."

"Yes," Lee whispered again. He felt the anger rise white-hot and stifling in his chest. He hadn't felt the anger like this in almost three years. With the destruction of the Colonies, he had let it go, as he had let go of his grief for Zac. There was too much newer grief to deal with. But now he felt it flare to life again, as potent and blinding as it had been on the day of Zac's funeral. He felt his hands shake with the renewed rage.

"Can a man who would gamble so cavalierly with the lives of his own sons be trusted to lead a convoy of civilians to safety? It's true that he may not even realize that he is leading us toward disaster, but do you believe that he would admit to anyone that he didn't truly know what he was doing?"

"No," Lee whispered.

"No, he wouldn't. He would rather see us all dead than admit that he could be wrong. At best, his behavior is negligent in the extreme. At worst... he is willfully leading us to our destruction. Is this really the man you wish to follow?"

Lee didn't answer, he looked away. His head was beginning to throb painfully. He couldn't seem to think straight. He was trying to examine his father's motives objectively, but memories from the past kept creeping in to cloud his judgment. He remembered his father's many long and painful absences, his consistent, unshakeable devotion to career and duty, which often took a higher priority than his devotion to his family. Lee remembered a lifetime of broken promises and disappointments... But he also remembered that his father was an excellent, natural leader. Despite the death and destruction that surrounded him, which would have crippled a weaker man, Adama had not only held himself together, but had held the entire fleet together as well, often through the sheer force of his will alone...

His head pounding fiercely now, Lee leaned over and rubbed at his temples, mindful of the still-tender left side. He couldn't seem to put his chaotic thoughts in order. As he sat, tugging slightly at his close-cropped hair, he was startled by a hand touching his shoulder. Reflexively, he pushed the hand away and looked up into Laura's startled and slightly hurt, brown eyes.

"Oh, Laura, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you," he said softly.

She knelt down in front of him and took his hands in hers. "What's wrong?" she asked soflty. "You looked almost frantic. What have you two been talking about?" She threw a slightly reproachful look at Enoch.

"It's nothing," Lee said quickly. "I should get you back to the Galactica."

He stood, then helped the president to her feet as well. They both turned to face the priest, who had also risen. "I don't suppose it would do any good to offer to let you stay here for the night?" Enoch asked.

"No," Lee answered firmly. "We have to go and I... have to think."

"Yes, you do. Let me know what decision you come to. And if you need someone to talk to, I am always here."

"Thank you," the younger man said softly, as he ushered Laura out of the room.

"What were you two discussing that was so serious?" she asked later, once they were alone in the shuttle and heading back to the Galactica. "You still seem tense."

"It's nothing," Lee insisted. "I don't want to talk about it."

He didn't know why he was so reluctant to talk about the disturbing conversation with Enoch. Normally he valued Laura's input on problems which had him stumped. Her calm, compassionate mind could often see issues and solutions which had eluded him. Her insight was especially helpful when it came to dealing with his pilots on a personal basis. The technical aspects of being CAG he could handle on his own, but considering that he was not much older than most of the pilots, and was even a few years younger than some, it made some of the more personal issues rather awkward. Laura had much more experience playing the diplomat and the manager and he had found her gentle advice invaluable over the past few months.

So, why was he shutting her out now, when he was feeling more confused and anxious than he ever had in his life? He knew that a large part of this was simply because this time the issue was his father. It wasn't that he didn't trust Laura's judgment when it came to his father. It was more that he didn't trust his own.

He and Laura had never really discussed his relationship with the elder Adama much. She knew that the relationship was strained, but hell, everyone on the Galactica knew that. Lee had ensured that himself with his less than cordial remarks to both Tyrol and his father upon his arrival for the decommissioning ceremony. Of course, at the time, he hadn't realized that his visit would become permanent. But now that it had, he was stuck constantly trying to make up for those earlier lapses in courtesy.

He wasn't sure if it was pride or embarrassment... or fear, but he didn't want Laura to know just how dysfunctional his relationship with his father was. And he certainly didn't want her to know just how angry he currently was at his father because, frankly, on some level, the sudden intensity of that anger frightened even him.

When they arrived back at the Galactica, Lee tactfully told Laura that he was exhausted and needed sleep and to be alone. She seemed disappointed, but accepted this. She gave him a quick kiss good night and returned to her own room, while he went to his.

He hadn't been lying about being exhausted, but tired as he was, sleep never came. His head was still throbbing mercilessly and the pain relievers he had taken seemed to have very little effect. He lay awake all night, his thoughts replaying the conversation with Enoch, the anger with his father continuing to slowly simmer, just below his consciousness.

Several sleepless hours later, when his alarm went off, he was in a truly foul temper. His head was still pounding and he felt slightly nauseous. The rest of his day followed along similar lines. He was irritable and short tempered with everyone. His duty shift could not have ended soon enough. When it finally did, he immediately retreated back to his bed, where once again, sleep eluded him.

By his third day, with little or no sleep and the almost constant headache, Lee's mood was verging on homicidal. Since his last visit to The Paradise, he had done everything humanly possible to avoid his father, worried that with his temper simmering so close to the surface, he might say something truly unforgivable. But today, he had two inexperienced pilots out on patrol together and he felt that he needed to be in CIC monitoring at least part of that patrol. He had checked the bridge duty roster and had seen that, unfortunately, his father would be in CIC during that time.

Entering the Galactica's central information center, a few minutes after the two pilots had launched, Lee tried to be inconspicuous as he sidled over to Petty Officer Dualla's workstation, to eavesdrop on her interaction with the pilots. She acknowledged his presence with a slight nod in his direction, while continuing with her job. Feeling eyes upon him, he looked over to see that his father was watching him intently. Lee quickly dropped his gaze back to the Petty Officer. Even that brief moment of eye contact with his father had been enough to bring his simmering rage to a quick boil.

Closing his eyes for a moment and clenching his teeth tightly, Lee took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm. Even as he felt the anger rise inside of him, he felt something else shrink back from it in horror. Although it was a part of him, born of his emotions, on some level it seemed an alien thing, bent on consuming his very soul. He felt that he was only just barely able to contain and control it. He was afraid that if he relaxed his guard, even for a moment, it would gain the upper hand.

"Lee, are you alright?"

Feeling the sudden weight of a hand on his shoulder, he opened his eyes and looked over to find his father standing close beside him. He hadn't even heard the older man approach. Reacting as if he'd been stung, Lee flinched and slapped his father's hand away. "Don't touch me!" he snarled.

A profound silence fell over the CIC and all eyes turned toward the father and son. Adama stood, stunned, his expression shocked and concerned. Lee was actually shaking with his rage. Realizing that he needed to leave before he said something he would regret, he abandoned his two rookie pilots to their fates and pushed roughly past his father. He felt Col. Tigh's narrowed eyes follow him as he strode out of the bridge.

Tigh glanced around at the collectively stunned faces of the bridge crew. "Alright, show's over, get back to work!" he growled.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked Adama softly as the other man came to stand beside him. "What did you do to piss him off now?"

"I have no idea," Adama answered.

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Lee sat at his desk in his quarters, leaning on his elbows, his aching head cradled in his hands. He felt numb and empty. He wanted to crawl off and hide in some dark corner and sleep for a week, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw his brother's face, heard Zac's laugh, and he wanted to scream. Somewhere, deep in that still-lucid part of his mind, he knew that his anger was irrational, but rational thinking seemed to have been pushed aside by raw emotions that he was rapidly losing control of.

Vaguely, as if he was hearing it from a distance, he was aware of the sound of someone knocking on the door to his quarters. He ignored it. He didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment. But the person on the other side of the door evidently had ideas of their own. He was aware of the door opening and someone entering the room to stand in front of his desk. He didn't bother to look up. He knew who it would be.

"What the hell's going on, Lee?" he heard Kara demand testily. "You were supposed to meet with Tyrol 45 minutes ago on the hangar deck."

"Oh, frak!" he groaned softly. He had completely forgotten about that.

"And what's this I hear about you causing a scene up in CIC?"

"Who told you that, my father?" he asked sharply, finally looking up.

"Damn, Lee, you look like shit," Kara said, ignoring his question. "Why don't you go to the Life Station? I'll tell Tyrol that you're sick."

"I'm fine and I don't need you to make excuses for me!" Lee snapped.

"I'm just trying to help, Lee."

"I don't need your help!"

"Fine, have it your way!" she said as she turned and left the room.

Returning to his brooding contemplation of his desktop, Lee sat for another ten minutes, or perhaps an hour, he wasn't sure. Time seemed to be slipping away from him. There was another knock on his door. This one was more tentative than Kara's. Again, he tried to ignore it, but again, he was denied. He looked up to see Laura slowly step into the room. She looked hesitant, unsure, and... a little fearful? Was she afraid of him? That thought cut through the chaos in his brain like a razor. He made a conscious effort to soften his expression as she came to stand beside his chair.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "I just spoke with Starbuck and she seemed concerned about you."

"I'm fine," he said softly.

"I heard about what happened in CIC this morning."

Great, it was all over the ship already, he thought sourly.

"Lee, I want you to take these," Laura said, holding her hand out to him. In her palm, lay two small, round, pale blue tablets.

"What are they?" he asked.

"They're tranquillizers. They're pretty strong. Dr. Soter gave them to me several months ago, but I haven't needed them for the past few weeks..."

When he didn't respond, she went to the small bathroom and returned a moment later with a cup of water. She held them both out to him. "Please Lee...," she whispered.

Looking up at her, he saw that the fear was, thankfully, gone from her eyes. But remembering it and thinking that he never wanted to see it again, he accepted the cup and the tranquillizers. Popping the tablets into his mouth, he chased them down with a swallow of water. Laura extended her hand to him and when he stood and accepted it, she led him to the bed. She helped him undress and once he had climbed in, she pulled the blankets up to tuck him in. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead. She could feel the heat from his skin radiate up through her lips.

"You're running a fever," she observed softly, but sleep was already claiming him and she doubted that he had heard her.

She had planned to check in on him later, she would check his fever again then. She quietly left the room to go in search of Kara, to let the younger woman know that she would need to temporarily cover Lee's duties. Laura glanced back at the bed before she slipped out the door. He was already sleeping soundly...

Lee found himself walking through the halls of the Galactica. They were deserted. There was not another, single living soul on board the ship. He didn't know how long he had been wandering through the maze of corridors, but so far, he had seen no one else. He knew that for some reason this should alarm him, but it didn't. It had been so long since he had been alone, completely alone, without the knowledge that there was another person just scant meters away at all times, that he found himself reveling in this solitude.

As he walked, he gradually became aware of a voice calling his name. It was very faint, but it was familiar. He knew that voice, knew it as well as his own. He quickened his pace, glancing randomly into rooms as he passed them.

"Zac! Where are you?" he called out.

"Lee, help me!" the voice repeated, slightly louder this time.

Looking around him, Lee realized that he had no idea what part of the ship he was in. Suddenly all the corridors looked the same. For all he knew he was going in circles. He could feel panic beginning to edge into his thoughts, quickening his heart rate and making him break out in a cold sweat. He had to get to his brother. Zac had sounded scared, possibly hurt, but where was he?!

"Zac, talk to me!" he called out.

"I'm over here! Please, Lee, hurry!"

The voice had sounded close that time. Turning in the direction he thought it had come from, Lee broke into a run. The corridor ended abruptly with a closed hatch door. Turning the wheel lock to unseal the door, he pulled it open and stepped through.

He found himself standing on one of the Galactica's flight decks. Across from him, lay the crumpled, burnt-out remains of a Viper. For some reason, his mind took note of the tail number, N7242C. Beside the crippled ship, was the broken, bloody body of Zac. The young man was feebly trying to crawl away from the wreckage. With a gasp, Lee sprinted across the deck to drop down at his brother's side.

Zac turned to look at him. His face was streaked with blood and his lips were cracked and peeling. "I knew you'd come," he whispered. "I knew you'd save me."

Lee felt his stomach clench at those words. He hadn't come in time. Looking at the horribly broken body before him, he knew there was very little chance of survival. When Zac weakly groped out with one bloody hand, Lee grasped it gently, too afraid to touch any other body part for fear of doing more damage.

"Lee, promise me that you won't tell Dad that I messed up. I don't want to disappoint him."

"Sshh, it's okay. Don't worry about Dad."

As though conjured by their very words, Lee became aware of a shadow falling over the two brothers and he glanced up to see his father standing over them. Dressed in his severe black uniform and with his scarred face stern and impassive, he looked like some ancient god of death come to judge the worthiness of the dying one. Lee felt himself shrink back involuntarily from the disturbing image.

"Get him up. He has to finish his flight test," the elder Adama ordered in that ever so deceptively soft voice of his.

"Dad, look at him, he's hurt!" Lee cried out.

"That's no excuse. We all deal with injuries. How a man responds to adversity is a mark of his true worth. Now, I will not have either of you making me look bad. Get him up."

"Dad, he can't do it. He's not strong enough! Can't you see that? Isn't it enough that I did what you wanted, that I followed in your footsteps? Can't you just leave Zac alone?"

"I said, get him up."

"No...," Lee whispered in growing horror.

"It's okay, Lee, I can do it," Zac said weakly. "Just help me to stand up."

Watching his brother struggling pathetically to drag himself to a sitting position, Lee felt an anger rise inside of him unlike anything he had ever felt before. He turned eyes blazing with icy blue fire on his father.

"Get him up," Adama repeated forcefully.

"No," Lee said, rising to his feet to face his father defiantly.

"You're disobeying a direct order, Captain?"

"I will not let you kill him to satisfy your own ego!"

With those words, Lee launched himself at his father, knocking the older man to the floor. They were fairly evenly matched in height and, although Adama outweighed his son, Lee had the distinct advantages of youth and superior strength. He quickly had his father pinned to the deck, straddling his chest. Without a conscious thought guiding him, he found his hands wrapping around his father's throat and squeezing mercilessly. Something deep within him sang in joy at the feeling...

Lee awoke with a gasp, sitting up in bed, his heart pounding, his body trembling. Almost immediately he felt the bile rise in the back of his throat and he quickly stumbled out of the bed to the tiny bathroom. He spent the next few minutes completely emptying the contents of his stomach, which wasn't much, considering that he had barely eaten for the past three days, and he was quickly reduced to painful, body-convulsing, dry heaves. When the spasms in his stomach finally relented, he lay down on the bathroom floor, curling into a fetal position, enjoying the feel of the cold metal against his fevered skin.

Oh, God, what's happening to me? he thought in desperation. Both Kara and Laura had told him to go to the Life Station, but he knew that if he told the Galactica's doctors about his dream and his thoughts of late, they would find some nice, padded, little room to lock him away forever. He would never see the inside of a Viper again and that was unacceptable.

But am I insane? he asked himself. Enoch said that his father was false, that his earlier dream was proof of that. Was this new dream also a revelation from God pointing to his father's falseness? Lee's head was still pounding hard enough to make thinking clearly difficult. He needed to talk to someone, to tell them about the dream, to unburden his thoughts. But there was no one on the Galactica who would listen to him objectively and not immediately take his father's side. He feared that that included Laura.

He needed to talk to someone neutral, someone who wouldn't judge him. The only person he could think of was Enoch. Everything seemed so much simpler when he was with the priest. Even if Lee didn't completely understand all of Enoch's theology, he could still take strength from the priest's own convictions. He needed to talk to the prophet.

Climbing slowly to his feet, he stood swaying for a moment, waiting for the small room to stop spinning. Taking a moment to rinse the foul taste from his mouth, he quickly pulled on his flight suit and boots. Unlocking the bottom drawer of his desk, he removed his sidearm and slid it into the holster already belted around his waist.

Down on the starboard side hangar deck, Lee bullied the ground crew into getting a shuttle ready for him. He was thankful that it was Fisher who was on duty. He was much more susceptible to intimidation than Tyrol was. Tyrol could be quite the stickler for regulations when it suited his purposes.

Up in the CIC, the communications technician on duty turned to Col. Tigh. "Sir, Capt. Apollo is requesting permission to depart with one of the shuttles," the young man said.

"What the hell for?" the XO demanded. "It's the middle of the night shift."

"Uh, he didn't say, sir."

Tigh considered this for a moment. "Give him clearance, but monitor his destination," he said.

"Yes sir."

Walking over to the lighted console table, Tigh grabbed the phone/intercom located there and punched in the code which would connect him to the commander's quarters. It was several minutes before Adama answered and Tigh knew that he had just dragged his old friend from his bed.

"Yes?" the voice responded, still slightly hoarse from sleep.

"Sir, we have a possible situation involving Capt. Apollo, which I thought you would wish to be made aware of," Tigh said neutrally.

There was a slight pause. "I'm on my way."

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Despite the lateness of the hour, Enoch did not seem particularly surprised to find Lee standing outside the door of his suite. He ushered the captain in without a word and led him to the couch. Lee noted that the priest was still fully dressed, almost as if he had been expecting the pilot... But no, Lee pushed the thought aside, why would Enoch expect him?

"You're troubled, Lee, what is it?" the priest asked.

"Ever since we last talked, I've been having these strange thoughts and... impulses. And earlier, I had a dream that I killed my father."

If he had thought to get a reaction from the priest with that statement, he was disappointed. Enoch didn't even blink. He simply stared at Lee for several minutes.

"God has shown you the last proof that you needed that your father is false. He has shown you your destiny."

"No...," Lee whispered. "I can't..."

"Yes, you can," Enoch said, grasping the other man by the shoulders. "It is your destiny. Your father will never allow the fleet to break away from the Galactica and he is the ultimate power on the battlestar. In order for us to make the journey to Earth, he will have to be removed. You can do this, Lee. God has shown this to me as well. It is your destiny."

Moving his hands, the priest rested his cool palms on Lee's burning cheeks. Instantly, the pain that had been plaguing the pilot for days, stopped. A sort of pleasantly numbed, calm came over him. He could think clearly for the fist time in days. He felt at peace.

Enoch let his hands drop away. They gazed at each other intently for a moment. "You know what you have to do, don't you?" the priest asked.

"Yes," Lee whispered.

Enoch reached over and pulled the gun from the other man's holster. He placed it in Lee's hands.

"Do not fear. This is by God's command."

"Yes," Lee said softly. "By God's command."

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

9/4/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 4

Author's warning: I haven't upgraded the rating on this chapter because I don't know that it really needs to be, but I'll give a clear warning here: this chapter gets a bit graphically violent. You've been warned.

'_Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay' Romans 12:19_

"What's the situation?" Adama asked Tigh as he walked into CIC.

"Capt. Apollo took a shuttle over to The Bird of Paradise. That was about twenty minutes ago."

"Did the captain say why he suddenly needed to take a trip to The Paradise in the middle of the night?"

"No, he didn't. Should I not have given him clearance to leave the ship?" Tigh asked.

"No, it's alright."

Tigh moved to stand close to his old friend and spoke to him in a low voice. "What's going on? Lee's been acting strangely for the past few days..."

"I know."

"You suspect his strange behavior may have something to do with this Enoch?"

"...I don't know... I hope not."

"Sir?" the communications technician spoke up. "We have an incoming message from The Bird of Paradise... It's Capt. Apollo."

Adama moved to the technician's workstation and accepted the headset the man offered him. Placing it on his head and adjusting it, he said, "This is Adama."

"Sir, I have a message from the Prophet Enoch." Lee's voice was slightly distorted by static and the electronic circuitry of the wireless, but he sounded normal, at least as far as Adama could tell. "He would like to meet with you and President Roslin as soon as possible."

"I am not in the habit of obeying the summons of a civilian, Captain," Adama said coldly.

"Yes sir, I understand that, but he would like to discuss our course toward Earth."

"I am not in the habit of discussing navigation with civilians either."

"I understand that sir, but-."

"This can't wait until morning?"

"Evidently not, sir. He is very concerned about our present course."

Adama sighed. There was more going on than just a desire to talk about the Fleet's current course. Enoch was up to something and somehow he had dragged Lee into the middle of it. Adama feared what might happen to Lee if he were to refuse to meet with the 'prophet'.

"Very well, tell him we'll be there within the hour."

Handing the headset back to the technician, the commander turned back to his XO.

"You aren't really going to just go over there, are you?" Tigh asked. "Just the two of you? Something's going on and Enoch's got a lot of loyal followers over there. I don't trust him."

"That's good, because neither do I. Have Captain Kelly meet Roslin and I on the port side hangar deck in a half hour. Tell him to bring a security team."

"And what are you going to be doing between now and then?"

"I'm going to go have a little chat with the president before we leave."

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It took a few minutes for Roslin to answer the knock on her door. When she did, she was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. Her dark hair was rumpled. Adama had obviously dragged her from bed. Somehow, he didn't feel particularly guilty about that.

"We need to talk," he said gruffly, as he pushed past her into the room.

"Please, come in. Make yourself at home," Laura said dryly, as she closed the door.

"Why did Lee just take a shuttle over to The Bird of Paradise?"

"What? He should be sleeping. I gave him enough tranquillizers to keep him out for at least 12 hours."

"You drugged him?!"

"I didn't trick him, if that's what you're implying. I asked him to take the pills, he took them voluntarily."

"And why did you feel that he needed to be sedated?"

"He hasn't been sleeping the past few nights. It's been affecting his behavior."

"I see... So, what is Enoch up to? And what does Lee have to do with it?"

"I don't know," Laura said, with a sigh. Still half asleep, she was having a little trouble keeping up with Adama's mental gymnastics.

"Well, what have the two of them been talking about?"

"I don't know. I tried to get Lee to tell me, but he wouldn't."

"You don't know? Weren't you there?"

"...Not really."

"Not really? What the hell does that mean?"

"I slept most of the time we were there. I don't know what Lee and Enoch discussed during that time."

"You slept?"

Laura gave another sigh. "I went there to have him heal me. Afterwards, I would sleep for a while. Lee and Enoch would talk. I don't know what about."

"So, while you were sleeping, Lee was alone with Enoch?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"About an hour the first time... I don't know... three hours, maybe more, the second time."

"You're telling me, that after spending more than three hours alone in Enoch's presence, Lee's sleep and behavior patterns abruptly changed and you didn't see fit to report this to the Life Station or to me?"

"Both Starbuck and I tried to get him to go to the Life Station, he wouldn't. Now, as to reporting to you; I am not one of your warriors. My first loyalty isn't to you. It's to Lee and considering that the two of you haven't been getting along these days, I felt that he wouldn't want me to tell you."

"Yes, well, we can see what good has come of that decision," Adama said caustically.

"Was there a point to this visit or did you come here solely to let me know how badly I've screwed up?"

This time it was Adama who gave the sigh. "No, there is a reason. Something's going on over on The Paradise. Twenty minutes ago, Lee took a shuttle over there. He just radioed in. You and I have been summoned to see the 'prophet'... I suggest you put on something more appropriate."

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Upon their arrival at The Paradise, the small group, which consisted of Pres. Roslin, Commander Adama, Capt. Kelly, and four armed security officers, were met in the shuttle bay by Capt. Adonis. After the obligatory polite greetings and introductions, Adonis offered to lead them to Enoch's quarters. Laura quickly declined the offer.

"Thank you, Captain, but that won't be necessary," she said. "I know the way."

"As you wish," he said, stepping aside to allow the group to pass.

As they walked through the corridors, they found that, despite the lateness of the hour, many of the residents of the luxury starliner were still awake. They stood in the doorway of their rooms, watching the small procession of warriors walk past. Many of them looked on with expressions of distrust and varying degrees of dislike. Adama wondered how many of them were followers of the prophet. He truly did not want a full scale riot on his hands.

Arriving at the suite where Enoch was living, they were met at the door by the priest's assistant, Maeve. She ushered them in without a word. Inside, they found several agitated-looking, young men and a few women. They were all standing around the prophet, who looked serene and composed. Standing alone, apart from this group, was Lee, his expression calm but unreadable. As the military entourage entered, Enoch disengaged himself from his followers and moved forward to greet them. He extended a hand to Adama.

"Ah, Commander, we meet at last," the priest said, smiling. "It is an hon-."

"Spare me the flattery," Adama interrupted coldly. "You didn't drag me over here in the middle of the night to kiss my ass. Now what the hell do you want?"

The wide smile on Enoch's face didn't falter a millimeter, but some subtle change in his eyes made it suddenly seem colder, more malicious.

"Yes, Lee said that you would come in here in an aggressive mode, guns blazing," the priest said. "I mean, my Lords, you brought bodyguards to a meeting with a priest."

Adama threw a quick glance at his son, whose expression remained carefully neutral. The commander wasn't sure which bothered him more, the fact that Lee had so accurately predicted his reaction to the situation or that he seemed to be on a first name basis with the prophet.

Shifting his attention back to the priest, Adama said, "You seem to have plenty of your own back-up. Why shouldn't I?" He gestured to the group behind the Enoch.

"We are unarmed civilians. You are armed warriors."

"Who are vastly outnumbered on this ship..."

"Peace Commander, please," Enoch said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I want this to remain a friendly meeting... What do you say we both scale things back a bit? Everyone leaves the room except for those directly involved in the discussion; you, Pres. Roslin, and myself. As an additional concession to you, I will allow Lee to remain in the room and remain armed. There, you have me outnumbered now. You can hardly argue with that arrangement."

It was true, there wasn't much Adama could argue with, at least not without blatantly implying that he didn't entirely trust his own son. Enoch had deliberately maneuvered him into a bad situation. And unless he was willing to risk possibly alienating Lee forever on a simple gut feeling, he was going to have to accept it.

"Very well," he said softly. "I agree... Capt. Kelly, will you and your men please wait in the corridor."

"Yes sir," Kelly responded, saluting. He glanced over at Lee and the two captains exchanged brief nods before the older man led his team out of the room.

Well, at least Kelly didn't seem to have any doubts about leaving us in Lee's hands, Adama thought, trying to take some comfort from this.

Enoch had turned to one of the men in his group. "Peter, why don't you and the others go on back to your rooms."

"Are you sure, Enoch? We can wait in the hall as well, if you want."

"No, no, I don't think that will be necessary. Just go on back to bed. You too, Maeve. We'll all talk in the morning."

Adama watched as the civilians obediently filed out of the room. When they were gone, he decided to go on the offensive again.

"Alright, Enoch, you wanted my attention, you've got it," he said. "Now, what is it you want?"

"I want to discuss our current course. You see, according to the Revelations I have received from God, we are headed the wrong way to get to Earth."

"You're trying to tell me how to navigate this fleet based on your dreams?" Adama asked incredulously.

"Not dreams, Commander, Revelations, Divine visions that have been confirmed by your own son. God has given him the same Revelation."

"You're having vision now, too?" Adama asked, turning to Lee. The commander's expression was concerned rather than suspicious.

Before the captain could respond, Enoch said, "Yes, Lee has felt the Divine Spirit as well. As has Pres. Roslin. By the way, how are you feeling, Laura?"

"I feel fine," she answered neutrally.

"Have you been to see your doctor lately?"

"Not yet, no," she admitted. Frankly, she had been too afraid to. She had been feeling better than she had in months and she was afraid of jinxing that. She knew it was foolish, but she couldn't help it.

"You should. I think he'll have some good news for you... So, you see, Commander, you are the only one here who doesn't believe."

"I never said I believed," Laura spoke up. "I said I felt better. I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth."

Enoch turned to face her, his expression cold. "I'm disappointed in you, Laura. I thought we understood each other."

"Evidently not."

"I see... very well, then." The priest turned back to Adama. "Commander, if you will not consider my polite request that you change our course, then I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to step down as the military leader of this fleet."

Adama gave a snort of derision. "And turn the command over to whom? You? You're going to command the Galactica?"

"Not me, no. Lee will command the Galactica."

The commander glanced at his son, all trace of sarcasm gone. "And if I refuse?"

"Lee..." the priest spoke the name as if it was a command and with that word, Lee drew the gun from his holster and aimed it directly at his father's head. He hadn't really thought about the action, it had simply happened, almost as if something else was controlling his body. He heard Laura give a slight gasp, but his attention was riveted on his father, who said nothing.

"Well, Commander?" Enoch asked.

"No, I won't let you take control of this fleet. If you want it, you're just going to have to kill me."

"As you wish... Lee, you heard the man..."

Adama had been calmly watching his son the entire time. Dark brown eyes held bright blue and, for Lee, time seemed to stand still. His head was once again throbbing mercilessly and he couldn't seem to focus his thoughts. Disconnected voices seemed to be chasing each other around in his head, like autumn leaves swirling in a light breeze.

He heard his own voice condemning his father for his brother's death, "Face it, you killed him!" But then he heard his mother's voice, "Lee, you can't keep blaming him. He's your father and he's hurting just as much as you are." Kara's voice, "Lee, how long are you going to keep doing this?" His father's voice, "Why won't you talk to me?" His own voice again, "I've hurt him badly and I don't want to do that anymore." Zac's voice, "Why are you always such a prick to Dad? Why can't you just cut him some slack once in a while? He does the best that he can for us."

"Kill him!" That voice cut through all the others, bringing with it white-hot pain, exploding from his left temple, strong enough to make him physically flinch. But still Lee did not move his finger from where it lay against the trigger guard. The point of the gun began to quiver slightly as his hand started to shake.

"You don't want to do this, Lee," Adama said softly, his rich voice pitched to that gentle tone that one uses to coax frightened children. "You're not a killer."

As his father continued speaking in that tone, his words gradually penetrated the thick chaos of Lee's thoughts. As the wavering point of the gun began to slowly lower, Enoch barked, "No! I said kill him!"

Laura, who had been standing by silent and stunned, turned to look at the priest as she realized that somehow he was attempting to control Lee. Without any clear thoughts about what she was doing, only thinking that she needed to silence Enoch, she launched herself at the man. She managed to land a fairly decent right hook to his jaw before he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tightly against his side, pinning one arm against his body and the other with his hand. His strength far exceeded what his lean body seemed to imply. From the back waist band of his pants, he produced another gun. This one was of a smaller caliber than Lee's, but was no less deadly, particularly at point-blank range. He pressed it painfully against Laura's ribcage.

"You have a choice, Captain. Either kill the commander or I will kill the president," Enoch said calmly. "Which will it be? Your father or the woman you love?"

"If you want Adama dead, you've got a gun! Kill him yourself!" Laura taunted the priest. "Why do you need Lee to do it for you? Or aren't you man enough to do your own dirty work?"

"If I did it, then I would look like a murderer and the people would turn against me. I want them to love me. I don't care if they turn against Capt. Adama. As soon as he kills the commander, he'll have served his function and I won't need him anymore. The only thing standing between me and control of this fleet will be you and, trust me, my dear, I can make it look like the cancer took care of that." Turning back to face Lee, he spoke in a slow, controlled voice, "Kill him."

Pain exploded in Lee's head, bending him over, his free left hand clutching at his temple. "Kill him," Enoch repeated.

As the pain receded far enough to allow Lee to think again and uncurl his body, a strange calm fell over him. Straightening, he brought the gun up and pointed it at Enoch. His finger was no longer on the trigger guard now, but resting lightly on the trigger itself. He held the gun with both hands this time, his feet planted wide in a perfect three-point Weaver stance, just as he had been taught at the Academy.

"Oh, don't even think about it," Enoch said softly. "If you even blink, I'll blow her in half."

But Lee never did blink. He flicked his eyes over to Laura, saw her nod her head almost imperceptibly then moved his eyes back to the priest. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly, centering himself. He and Enoch were only standing about two and a half meters apart. There was very little chance that he would miss his target at this range, but if he did, he could hit Laura. The trick to accurately firing a gun was not to 'pull' the trigger. The pulling action could cause the barrel of the gun to lift slightly, possibly spoiling your shot. And contrary to popular teachings, you didn't want to 'squeeze' it either. This could cause the barrel to dip slightly. The trick was to 'press' the trigger, slowly and evenly.

As the last bit of breath left his lungs, Lee let his vision tunnel down so that he only saw his target, everything else was washed out. He saw only a small space in the middle of Enoch's forehead. The priest was still speaking, but Lee was beyond hearing the man's words. Blocking out the still throbbing pain in his head, he felt the deadly calm fill him. He pressed the trigger. Watched as milliseconds later a small red hole appeared in the priest's forehead, blossoming out from behind as the back of his head exploded, splattering the wall behind him, and Laura, in a spray of warm blood, bone fragments, and brain matter.

Still in his numbed state, Lee stood staring at his handiwork, like abstract art on the white-washed walls. He was only peripherally aware that Laura had screamed reflexively as she had been showered in body fluids. Seconds later, Kelly and his security team had burst into the room, weapons drawn, only to find no hostiles. Sensing a presence beside him, Lee looked up to see his father gently take the still-raised gun from his unresisting hands. He let his arms drop uselessly to his sides. Never letting his eyes leave his son's, Adama slowly stepped back.

"Capt. Kelly, please take Capt. Adama into custody," he said softly.

"Sir?" the security chief asked.

"You heard me."

His gaze still locked with his father's, Lee nodded slightly. Slowly, he lowered himself to kneel on the carpeted floor and crossed his ankles. He raised his hands slowly and interlocked his fingers behind his head. The pain in his temple had reached a point where he was only vaguely aware of the security officers placing the plasticuffs on his wrists and helping him back to his feet. He barely took note of Laura protesting this treatment to his father.

He wasn't sure at what point Capt. Adonis and his security team had arrived on the scene, he only knew the man was suddenly there and his father was giving him orders. "After we leave, this room is to be sealed. A medical team from the Galactica will be arriving shortly to take possession of the body and collect evidence. Until then, no one enters this room. Is that understood?"

"Uh, y-yes sir," Adonis stammered, looking ghostly pale, his gaze fixed on the ruined mess of what used to be the priest's head.

The long march through the corridors of The Paradise, to the shuttle bay seemed to take only a few seconds. Lee was surrounded on all sides by the security officers and when they arrived at the shuttle, two of them stationed themselves beside the chair they had placed him in. Once he found himself in a seated position, with nothing else to concentrate on, like walking, Lee found the incessant pounding in his head impossible to escape from. With a soft groan, he slumped back in the chair as blessedly numbing darkness washed over him...

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

9/10/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 5

As awareness gradually returned, Lee found himself lying in a bed. Monitors and an IV stand surrounded him. He was in the Life Station on the Galactica, in one of the few private rooms. Turning his head slightly, he saw rows of metal bars attached to the sides of the bed. He started to raise a hand to touch the bars, but found wide, black nylon straps restraining his wrists. Another strap crossed his chest, another bisected his thighs, and two more immobilized his ankles. Raising himself up as much as his restraints would allow, he gazed past the foot of the bed. A large observation window made of one-way glass took up most of that far wall. Lee realized uncomfortably that he was probably being watched.

He lay back down with a slight groan. Even that brief expenditure of energy had exhausted him. He head was still pounding and his eyes burned as if there was a lit furnace behind them. He closed his eyes and was just starting to drift off again, when he heard the door to the room open. Forcing his eyes open again, he managed to focus them on the form of Col. Tigh standing just inside the room. An armed security officer stood behind him.

"Gee, all this security, just for me?" Lee asked weakly. "I'm flattered."

Tigh didn't smile. He recognized a brave front when he saw one. He started to move closer, but the security officer stopped him with a warning.

"Be careful, sir. You probably shouldn't get too close to the prisoner."

Seeing Lee flinch slightly at the word 'prisoner', Tigh snapped, "Thank you, Lieutenant. That will be all. Please wait outside."

"But sir-."

"That will be all. You are dismissed," the colonel repeated firmly.

"Yes sir," the man said reluctantly, with a crisp salute.

Tigh moved to stand beside the bed and rested his hands on the metal bars. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like my head's going to explode." At those words, Lee had a mental flashback of Enoch's head doing just that and he felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

Seeing the younger man's expression change, Tigh said, "I'll let Salik know that you're in pain. Maybe he can give you something. Do you want some water?"

"Yes, please." Lee actually didn't feel terribly thirsty. He supposed the IV in his arm was keeping his body pretty well hydrated, but his mouth and throat were parched.

There was a bottle of water, with a straw, sitting on the table beside the bed and the colonel held it so that Lee could drink from it. Afterward, he fell back, once again exhausted and light-headed. Tigh pulled up a low, rolling stool beside the bed and sat down. His expression was grave. Lee watched him for a moment, wondering why the man was being so solicitous.

"How is Lau-, Pres. Roslin?" Lee asked.

"She's fine. She was a little freaked out, but she's alright now."

Lee felt a stab of guilt for being the cause of her distress and because he hadn't even been able to comfort her afterward.

"... And my father?" he asked hesitantly.

"He's fine."

"Then why do you look like someone died?"

"Someone did die, Lee, the prophet Enoch."

"Oh, yeah..."

Tigh was silent for a moment before he said, "Dr. Salik and Dr. Baltar examined the body. Enoch was a Cylon. But I suppose you already knew that."

"What makes you think that I knew?"

"Well, wasn't that why you killed him?"

"I killed him because, Human or Cylon, he was dangerous and he needed to die," Lee said dispassionately.

"Oh," Tigh said simply, but Lee noted that there was respect in the older man's eyes. "Tell me, do you remember him doing anything strange or suspicious when you were alone with him?"

"No, but I did fall asleep during one of our visits."

The colonel nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing.

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, you're running a high fever. The doctors aren't sure why. They've been doing tests, but until they can determine what's going on... you'll stay here..." Like this, his apologetic look clearly stated.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

Tigh didn't answer, but he looked away uncomfortably.

"It's alright, sir, I understand," Lee said softly. "Right now, I don't trust me either."

The colonel looked up at those words. "Son, I want you to understand something. Your father is standing on the other side of that window right now." He emphasized his words by gesturing to the one-way glass. "He's been standing there for the last 12 or so hours since they brought you here. The only reason he isn't in this room with you, is because Capt. Kelly and I won't allow it. Yes, it's true, we don't trust you. But, make no mistake, your father does."

"Thank you sir," Lee whispered. "Could you please tell my father... that I'm sorry if I've disappointed him?"

"That's enough of that," the older man said gruffly. "We don't know what happened to you while you were with Enoch, but we're going to find out. You just hang in there, Son. We'll figure this out." He reached a hand over the bars and gave Lee's shoulder a brief squeeze. "Now, get some sleep."

"Yes sir," Lee whispered, as a single tear slid from the corner of one eye, down his temple to disappear into his hair.

Moments later, Tigh had barely managed to close the door to Lee's room before Adama pounced on him. "How is he?" the commander demanded.

"Toughing it out, just as you'd imagine. He's scared, but he's covering it up well."

"Does he hate me?" Adama whispered.

"No, he understands... I know you would prefer it if he did hate you, so that you could wallow in your guilt. But, like it or not, you did the right thing and he knows it."

Although still unconvinced, the commander nodded and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Will, go back to your room and get some sleep," Tigh urged. "You haven't slept in almost 20 hours. I'll let you know immediately if there's any change in Lee's condition."

"Alright, alright, you win. I'll go."

As Adama was about to head out of Life Station, a young security officer stepped up to him. "Excuse me sir," the young man said, "but we were told to notify you immediately if we found anything unusual in the priest's rooms on The Paradise..."

"Yes, what did you find?"

"Just this... it looks like some kind of a star chart, sir."

The man handed Adama a sheet of paper on which was, indeed, a crude, hand-drawn star chart. Tigh came to stand beside the commander and looked over his arm at the drawing as well.

"Didn't we already investigate this sector?" Tigh asked.

"Yes, but this chart shows more than what we explored... Have a drone sent into this sector. I want to know what's there."

"Yes sir, I'll get right on it," the XO responded.

"Good, I'll be in my quarters."

Arriving back at his quarters moments later, Adama found Laura and Kara already there, waiting for him. They had let themselves into his office and were seated on the couch when he walked in. They both stood as he entered.

"Sir, we went down to the Life Station to see Lee and we were told that we couldn't see him," Kara said immediately. "What's going on? Why can't we see him?"

"No one gets to see him, not even me. He's effectively under arrest. I'm sorry."

"I know that, sir. Laura told me what happened on The Paradise, but that doesn't explain why we can't see him. If he was in the brig, we'd be able to go and visit him."

"Not this time, you wouldn't."

"Why?" she demanded, "because he killed someone who was plotting to take over the fleet? Who wanted you dead? What's so horrible about that? And why does that mean we can't see him?"

Adama sighed heavily. All the exhaustion that he had been putting off for the past few hours seemed to catch up to him all at once. Moving slowly to his desk, he sank down gratefully on the chair.

"Why don't you both have a seat?" he suggested. When they had complied, he continued, "You understand that the information I'm about to share with you cannot be repeated to anyone else?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kara said impatiently. "Laura already swore me to secrecy about the events on The Paradise. You know I can keep a secret, sir... Well, to anyone except you."

Adama smiled slightly at that. "Alright... Salik and Baltar examined Enoch's body. He was a Cylon."

"Oh, frak me!" Kara breathed softly.

Laura's hand came up to cover her mouth, but she said nothing and her expression did not seem terribly surprised.

"Now, considering Lee's recent erratic behavior, we have reason to suspect that Enoch may have... done something to him," Adama went on. "We don't know for sure and we don't know what. And until we have more concrete answers, Lee will remain quarantined."

"Is he alright?" Laura asked quietly. "He was running a fever earlier."

"No, the fever is still quite high and the doctors don't know what's causing it."

The two women glanced at each other for a moment then Kara said, "We want to see him."

"No," Adama said in a tired, but firm voice. "The only person, other than the doctors, who has been to see him, is Col. Tigh and that's the way it's going to remain."

"Tigh?" Kara said indignantly.

"How is he?" Laura asked.

"Saul said that he's scared, but toughing it out... Now, I'm sorry, but neither of you is going to see him."

The two women stood reluctantly and started for the door. Stopping in the doorway, Laura turned back to the commander. "Will you at least let us know if there's any change?"

"Yes, I'll do that."

"Thank you."

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The insistent buzzing of the phone beside his desk awoke Adama some time later. Whether it had been a few hours or a few minutes, he couldn't be sure. It had seemed like he had only just laid his head down. Tossing the covers away, he stumbled to his desk and grabbed the phone.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to wake you..." The voice was Tigh's and he sounded unusually serious.

"How is he?" Adama asked, suddenly feeling numb.

"He's lapsed into a coma. Dr. Salik wants to see you as soon as possible."

"I'm on my way."

Hastily pulling on the same rumpled uniform he had been wearing earlier, Adama took a few minutes to splash cold water on his face and run a hand through his hair. He set off to the Life Station at a fast walk. Entering Salik's small office, he found not only the Galactica's primary physician, but Tigh and Dr. Baltar as well. As the commander entered, Tigh rose from the room's only extra chair, which he had been sitting in, and pushed it towards Adama.

"Why don't you have a seat?" the colonel said softly.

Lowering himself slowly to the chair, the commander watched the grave faces of the other men. Tigh was wearing his best pyramid face, all business, no emotion showing. Salik, a handsome man in his mid-forties, with a shock of prematurely white hair, looked sympathetic. And Baltar looked scared. He was quite pale and was sweating. Why was it that the man always looked like he was afraid of being called out for something?

Focusing his attention on Salik, Adama asked, "You have an update on Lee's condition?"

"Yes, he lapsed into a coma a few hours ago. His fever is still dangerously high. I'm very concerned about this. As you probably know, with prolonged high fevers there is always the chance of permanent brain damage. Earlier we tried immersing him in an ice bath, but it seemed to have only a temporary effect."

"What else?"

Glancing over at Baltar, the doctor moved to a large light box mounted vertically on the wall. A large chart was already hanging there. Switching the light on, the chart was illuminated to show the negative image of the side view of a human skull.

"This is from the MRI scan we took of Capt. Adama's head. I am also very concerned about the headaches and nausea he's been complaining of... As you can see, there is an anomaly here at the left frontal lobe." The doctor pointed out the small, dark mass, about two centimeters in diameter, with the tip of his pen.

"A tumor?" Adama asked, feeling an icy chill slide slowly down his spine.

"It could be, but considering the size of it, I would think that the captain would have been showing symptoms long before now."

"What else could it be?"

Salik looked over at Baltar, who said, "It could be a Cylon implant."

"Is that even possible?" Tigh asked skeptically.

"W-well, I-I certainly wouldn't know first hand," Baltar stammered quickly, "but in-in theory, yes, it is conceivable. The Cylons have obviously developed technology well beyond ours."

"Is there any way to find out for sure?" the colonel asked.

"Yes, we can perform a stereostatic biopsy, make a small opening in the skull, remove a tissue sample and test it to see if it's organic or synthetic," Salik answered.

"If it does prove to be... synthetic, will you be able to safely remove it?" Adama asked.

"Commander, regardless of whether it's a tumor or some kind of Cylon implant, it needs to be removed... it's killing him."

"So, there really isn't much point in taking a sample, is there? You may as well just take the whole thing out now. Can that be done safely?"

"Well, if it is a tumor, yes, I can safely remove it. If it's an implant... I don't know what would happen if I tried to remove it. I don't know what its function is."

"I would imagine to control him, to make him kill his father," Tigh suggested.

No one responded to that statement.

"So, the choices are; that we can leave it in, in which case Lee will die. Or you can try to remove it, in which case, Lee might live, or he might die. Is that correct, Doctor?" Adama asked.

"Yes sir," Salik confirmed sadly. "And, I'm sorry, Commander, this will have to be your decision. Capt. Adama is comatose and unable to make the decision himself. You are his next of kin."

The commander sat for a long moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose, where a splitting headache of his own was rapidly developing. At last, he looked up at the doctor. "It appears that we really don't have much of a choice here at all."

"Well sir, perhaps we could test a tissue sample, as I said earlier, and if it proved to be an implant we could...." Salik let his voice trail off as he realized that he really wasn't sure what he was trying to suggest.

"Exactly," Adama said softly. "No, doctor, thank you anyway, but... Remove it."

"Yes sir. I'll have my technicians begin prepping the captain for surgery right away."

"Thank you."

Adama slumped back heavily in his chair, suddenly feeling very, very old. He was barely aware of Tigh moving to stand behind him and resting his hands on his friend's shoulders.

To be continued...

Author's note: Yes, I know this is a short chapter, but we gotta keep the suspense going, and I certainly don't want Cyndi to explode ; )


	6. Chapter 6

9/13/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 6

He had been staring at the same paragraph for nearly twenty minutes and he still had no idea what it said. With a resigned sigh, Adama took off his glasses, dropped them onto the desk and rubbed his tired eyes. This was getting him nowhere. Earlier Salik had urged him to return to his quarters and get some sleep. The doctor had pointed out that he had no idea what they would be getting into, so the surgery could take quite some time.

But, of course, Adama hadn't left. He had paced around the waiting area for nearly a half hour before one of the medical technicians, Cassie, had threatened to sedate him if he didn't go and, at least, lie down. So, the commander had returned to his rooms, but feeling too restless to lie still, he had thought to catch up on his paperwork. That had obviously been an optimistic thought. He couldn't even get past the first paragraph of the very first report he had picked up.

He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. Whenever he tried, his mind would seem to just drift off. He wasn't dwelling on the past. He wouldn't allow himself to do that. That would be too much like grieving and he simply refused to do that yet. He refused to accept that he could lose Lee this way. He hadn't been able to speak to his son before he'd lapsed into the coma. It would just be too cruel for the Lords to give him his son back, only to take him away again, especially without even letting Adama make peace with Lee first.

The commander was actually glad when the obsessive circles his mind kept turning in, were interrupted by a knock on the hatch to his rooms. Too tired to stand, he simply called out for the person to enter. He was only mildly surprised when Pres. Roslin stepped into the room.

"They told me at Life Station that they'd sent you to bed, but I figured you'd still be awake," she said as she sat down on the couch. She was wearing the comfortable sweatpants and sweatshirt so, for the moment, she abandoned her usual dignity and tucked her feet under so that she was sitting cross-legged.

Dressed casually and sitting as she was, she looked years younger and, for the first time, Adama thought he could see what had attracted his son to his woman. He had to admit that she was beautiful. He could see more than a little of Ilya in her and he supposed that had also played some part in the attraction. Lee and his mother had always been very close.

"We need to talk," Laura said.

"Yes, I suppose we do."

"The fact that you disapprove of Lee and I, isn't going to stop us from being together. But it would make things easier, at least on Lee, if you could manage to tolerate us."

"Yes, I suppose I have been rather unreasonable, haven't I?"

"Not unreasonable, no, just... overprotective," she said with a smile, "which is understandable, to me, at any rate. But surely you can see Lee's side. He's an adult. He expects to be treated like one."

"I know. I've handled things badly with him of late," Adama said sadly. "But it seems like only yesterday he and Zac were children, begging me to come outside and kick a ball around with them... And I swear I only looked away for a moment and... Suddenly they were grown men, leaving for the Academy. And I had completely missed everything in between. And then Zac was gone and Lee... Because I never saw the transition, I never learned how to deal with them as adults. Oh, I can deal with Lee as an officer, a warrior, and a fellow pilot, but as my own adult son, as a person..." the commander shrugged and shook his head in frustration.

Laura gave him a slight, mysterious smile. "Do you honestly think it's any easier for him? For his entire life you have been this mythical icon that he has spent his life trying to emulate. Of course, he would probably rather die than admit any of this and he resents you like hell for it, but the fact is, he's spent his life trying to impress you and now that he finally has your attention, he has no idea how to deal with it."

"And I haven't exactly made it any easier for him, have I?"

"No, you haven't, but then he hasn't made your life any easier, either."

Adama gave a short, humorless laugh. "Sort of takes the word 'dysfunctional' to a whole new level, doesn't it?"

"It's not that bad. At least the two of you keep trying and that's the key. Words can be hurtful, yes, but they can always be explained or taken back or apologized for, but the silences... those are the real killers. When we're left with nothing but silence, it's only human nature to try to fill it, in our own minds. Unfortunately we tend to fill it with our own fears, our own neuroses. And the next thing you know, an impenetrable wall has been erected between two people, without a single word ever having been spoken. There's been enough silence between you and Lee. Please, promise me that...when... Lee gets through this, the two of you will talk."

Adama nodded gravely. "Very well," he said softly. "Now that you've had your say, it's my turn."

"Fire away," Laura said, her chin lifting somewhat defiantly. "Say what you have to say."

"When I told you that I disapproved of your relationship with Lee only because of your health, I was lying. It was because of your age as well... I want grandchildren. I know it's selfish, idealistic, and downright inconvenient, but damn it, I want grandchildren! I want to see little faces with my son's blue eyes and..." his voice caught for a moment. When he continued, it was barely above a whisper, "My wife's smile."

"And I would love nothing more than to give them to you," Laura said softly. "But I can't. I never could. I've never been able to bear children."

The commander looked up and their eyes met and he could see her pain. But, although he regretted causing that pain, he didn't regret his words. They reflected his feelings and no amount of regret was going to change them.

"Lee has taken some form of male birth control which lasts for ten years," Laura continued. "He still has three years left before it wears off. Which means there's very little chance of him fathering any children for a while... I want Lee to have children as well. I won't stand in the way of that, but these next three years are mine... for as long as he'll have me. After that... we'll see."

"I can live with that."

"I'm so glad you approve," she said dryly.

The remark Adama had been about to make was cut off by the sound of the phone on the wall beside him buzzing loudly. The two exchanged tense glances, before the commander picked up the receiver. He took a deep, steadying breath before speaking.

"Yes?"

"I know I'm not the person you want to hear from, but I do have some important news, I think you'll want to hear." The voice was Tigh's and, no, he wasn't who Adama was waiting to hear from.

Just managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice, the commander said, "Yes, Colonel, what is it?"

Across from him, Adama watched Laura's reaction. By his verbal cue, she knew that this was not the long anticipated call. Her face fell and she slumped back on the couch, every line of her body radiating her impatience. He understood exactly how she felt.

"We've just received a transmission from the drone we sent out," Tigh was saying as the commander forced his mind back to his duties. "It sent us images of three Cylon basestars trying to camouflage themselves at the edge of a small asteroid field. The drone's transmissions stopped abruptly, so I think we can assume they destroyed it and they know we're onto them. I've already got Lt. Gaeta working on coordinates for a jump. We're notifying the rest of the fleet now."

"Good work. You have my permission to order the fleet to jump as soon as everyone is ready."

"Yes sir."

Replacing the receiver in its cradle, Adama turned his attention back to Laura, who looked at him curiously. "We're jumping?" she asked.

After he had explained about the star chart, the drone and its discovery, she nodded thoughtfully and said, "So, that's what Enoch's plan was. He wasn't going to lead us to Earth, he was going to lead us into the waiting arms of the Cylons. If he hadn't gotten impatient and tried to force his hand through Lee, he might have succeeded. He was gaining support, slowly, but steadily. If he could have waited a while longer, he probably could have simply led us to our doom, like lambs to the slaughter."

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Adama sat in the uncomfortable, plastic chair in Life Station and simply watched his son sleep. The surgery had been successful. The implant, as it had, indeed, turned out to be, had proven easier to remove than Salik had anticipated. The entire operation had taken only four hours. Nearly eight hours later, though, Lee had still not woken up, but the doctor did not seem concerned yet, so neither was the commander.

Laura had sat with the captain for most of that time, so that Adama could finally get some sleep. He had only relieved her an hour or so earlier. Although he had a stack of paperwork sitting nearby to work on, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the bed. It was as if he needed the constant reassurance of seeing his son's chest steadily rising and falling to be convinced that he was alive and that this ordeal was over. But of course, that wasn't true. The ordeal would not be truly over for a very long time.

When Adama had finally allowed himself to lie down and try to sleep, even as exhausted as he was, it had not come easily. He had been plagued by nightmares where he saw Lee standing over Zac's dead body, staring accusingly at his father and pointing the loaded gun. But in the dream, Lee had actually pulled the trigger. Adama would wake up suddenly, his heart pounding and his body sweating... No, this ordeal would definitely leave a lingering stain.

As though reacting to his father's thoughts, Lee made a small whimpering noise and shifted in his sleep. The commander stood and moved to stand beside the bed. Resting his hands on the bars, he watched the younger man intently to see if this increase in movement would herald an imminent return to consciousness. At his adamant insistence, the restraints had been left off, although they still dangled threateningly off the sides of the bed, should they prove to be necessary again. Lee's increasingly agitated movements were now restricted only by the IV tube in his arm and the bars still attached to the bed.

"Lee," Adama called softly. His eyes fell on the bandaged left side of Lee's face, where the doctors had removed the implant. Luckily it had been small and shallowly placed, so that the surgery had not needed to be terribly invasive. They had not even needed to shave more than a small portion of his head.

Lee's movements continued to become more strenuous, more frantic, and he moaned softly as he turned his head on the pillow. Wishing to ease his son's obvious distress, Adama reached over the bars to lightly touch the younger man's face. At that touch, the captain jerked awake with a gasp, flinching away from the touch. He would have tried to sit up, but his father quickly caught hold of his shoulders and held him down.

"Easy, easy, lie still," the commander said gently. "Your head's going to be very sore, so you need to lie still."

As he watched the panic and confusion recede from Lee's eyes, he relaxed his grip on the captain's shoulders. Lee glanced around, taking in his surroundings and his memories began to sluggishly return. Bringing a hand up, he gingerly touched the bandage just to the side of his left eye. He looked at his hand for a second, as though noticing it for the first time, and his body suddenly stiffened.

"The restraints!" he gasped, looking around for them.

"Sshh, take it easy, you don't need them anymore," Adama said quickly. "Dr. Salik found a Cylon implant in your head. The doctors have removed it. That's what was probably making you act so strangely."

"But you don't know that for sure," Lee whispered.

"I'll take my chances," the commander said, smiling warmly

"But I could st-."

"Sshh," Adama interrupted, "don't, Lee, it's over. Let it go..."

The captain nodded, but despite the reassuring gesture, Adama did not miss the haunted look that remained in his son's eyes. He offered a quick, silent prayer to the Lords that this ordeal would not leave any permanent scars, physical or mental. Feeling a sudden need to offer comfort, he touched Lee's cheek again, brushing lightly at the almost four days' growth of stubble.

"Go back to sleep," he urged gently. "Your body is still healing."

Lee murmured something unintelligible, but his eyes were already sagging heavily and he didn't seem to have the energy to repeat himself. Adama let his hand linger for a moment longer, watching his son drift back to sleep.

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When Lee awoke next, he found Laura seated in the chair beside the bed. She was flipping through some kind of a report. After several minutes, when she looked up and saw that he was awake, she smiled and moved to sit on the bed beside him. It was then, that he realized the bars had been removed.

Gesturing to the side, he said, "So, I'm going to be trusted with a big boy's bed again?"

"Only if you promise not to fall out," she chuckled. "I don't think your poor head could take much more abuse."

His expression sobered. "Laura, I'm sor-."

"No," she interrupted quickly. "Don't apologize. Don't ever apologize to me. This was my fault entirely, I took you there. I left you alone with that..." She let her voice trail off, suddenly unable to continue.

"You were alone with him, too, at least once. Are you...?"

"I'm fine. Once the doctors knew what to look for, they did an MRI on me, too. I passed, no implants. They've been bringing over Enoch's stronger supporters and testing them as well. So far, they're all clean."

"So, I was the only one who got the secret toy surprise, huh?" he asked bitterly.

Quickly deciding to change the subject, Laura said, "I had Dr. Soter run some other tests as well... My cancer is in remission."

Lee looked up sharply at that. "They're sure? It's not a mistake?"

"They ran the tests twice, just to make sure. It's not a mistake. Evidently Enoch didn't lie about his ability to heal... Of course, my cancer isn't gone, it's in remission," she repeated, wanting to make sure he understood the difference.

"Yeah, but... Laura..." he breathed, unable to articulate his feelings. Giving up, he settled for pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is a family establishment," a brash voice interrupted their tender moment. "I want to see at least fifteen centimeters of daylight between you two."

Lee and Laura both turned toward the doorway, to see Kara standing just inside the room. In a more serious tone, the pilot added, "You do remember that there's a great big picture window right in front of that bed, don't you?"

She could tell by their sheepish expressions and the way they quickly broke apart, that they had forgotten about the one-way glass. "Lucky for you two, I was the only one standing out there at the moment, because there's been a steady parade of people walking by here all morning!"

As she spoke, she crossed the room to stand on the far side of the bed. She leaned over and gave Lee a quick kiss on the cheek. At his slightly bemused expression, she said, "That's because I'm so glad to see you looking better." Stepping back slightly, she slugged him on the shoulder. "And that's for scaring the crap out of me! You ever do that again, Adama, and I'm going to kick your ass!"

He just stared at her, shocked, and rubbing his shoulder. Instantly she felt guilty. "Oh, I didn't hit you that hard."

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be resting and recuperating," he said, "not being assaulted by junior officers."

"Oh, please! It didn't look like you and Laura were 'resting' two minutes ago!"

Laughing softly at their friendly banter, Laura stepped back from the bed, hoping to stay out of the line of fire, verbal or otherwise. As she did, her attention was drawn by the sound of running feet and the flash of movement from outside the room's open doorway. Seconds later, Maeve, Enoch's assistant from The Bird of Paradise, burst into the room, followed closely by Capt. Kelly.

"Murderer!" the girl shrieked as she started towards the bed. Kelly managed to grab one of her arms before she got very far. "You killed him, you son-of-a-bitch! You murdered him!"

Tears of rage flowed freely down her cheeks and her face was distorted horribly with her fury. With a violent wrench, she managed to pull away from the burly security officer. Quickly stepping up and placing her own body between the younger woman and the bed, Laura said, "He was a Cylon, Maeve!"

"No, he wasn't! You're lying. Don't you think I would have known if the man I loved was a Cylon? He was a good man, but he found out the truth about the commander's lies. And that's why you had to silence him, didn't you? That's why you killed him!" She was craning her neck, trying to see around Laura, so that she could spew her venom directly at Lee.

Laura stepped even closer, more effectively blocking the girl's line of sight. "Control yourself," she said in a low voice. "You're making an ass of yourself."

"I'm making an ass of myself?" Maeve responded, her voice pitched low enough that only Laura could hear it. "Well, at least I'm not sleeping with a murderer... Yes, I know your little secret. I know whose bed you sleep in. I wonder how the rest of the fleet would like it, to know just how cozy you are with the little Adama Clan. You're supposed to be on our side, not theirs, remember? ...Tell me something, do you sleep with the commander too? You know, let them do a little father-son tag tea-."

As Laura's punch landed, it staggered the girl back and only Capt. Kelly's arms catching hold of her, kept her from hitting the floor. As Maeve stood upright and swiped her hand across her mouth, it came away bright with smeared blood.

"She hit me!" the girl yelled accusingly, turning to face Kelly. "She assaulted me! Do something!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I was too busy trying to keep you from assaulting Capt. Adama. I didn't see anything," Kelly said, his tone dripping with icy courtesy. "Starbuck, did you happen to see anything?"

"No, I didn't see a damn thing," the pilot answered, grinning. "Lee, did you see anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not," he answered.

"Fine, I see how it is," Maeve said, with a grimace, her teeth visibly stained with her blood. "Just remember, Madam President, you're going to have to hold an election eventually. The people will demand it, soon probably. And when that happens, I will make damn sure all of this becomes public knowledge... and as for you..." She turned her attention back to Lee. "You might not want to stray too far from the Galactica for a while. You're not very popular in the fleet right now. And the next time you come to The Paradise, you definitely might want to watch your back."

"Capt. Kelly?" Laura spoke up. "Did she happen to pass her MRI scan?"

"Yes sir, unfortunately, she did."

"Mmm, that's too bad... Please get her out of my sight before I lose my temper again," the president said in a slow, tightly controlled voice.

"Yes sir. Come on, there's a shuttle in the hangar with your name on it," the security officer said, taking the girl by the arm and starting to drag her towards the door.

"Wait! I'll come with you," Kara said, hurrying to join them. "We can't be too careful, now can we? After all, we wouldn't want, Princess here, to have another accident."

As she was following Kelly and his charge out the door, she stopped in the threshold and turned back to Laura. "Nice shot!" she whispered, grinning hugely and flashing a thumb's up sign.

Shaking her head at Kara's words, the president turned back to the bed. Moving slowly, she went to sit beside Lee. He leaned forward and rested his aching head against her shoulder. "My hero," he said softly. "Thank you for defending my honor."

"How come in all those romantic stories, they never mention how much it hurts to punch someone?" she asked, messaging her painfully bruised knuckles.

"You have to learn how to avoid the teeth. You know, if you're going to start brawling on a regular basis, you might want to have Kara teach you how to throw a proper punch."

"I'll keep that in mind," Laura said, testily. "I shouldn't have let her get to me like that. I shouldn't have hit her. It was inexcusable and unprofessional... but, damn, it felt good."

"Maeve had a point though, it could come back to haunt you at election time."

"I'll worry about that when I have to..."

"What did she say to you that got you so worked up? I couldn't hear it, she was speaking too low."

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it," Laura said dismissively.

"That bad, huh?"

"...Yeah... Lee, you don't believe all that crap she was spouting, do you? About being a murderer? You don't feel guilty for killing Enoch, do you?"

"No, I don't," he answered honestly. "I just... wish she believed the truth."

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"Ah, Dr. Baltar, come in, come in," Salik called from where he sat at his desk in his small, cluttered office. Standing, the doctor began shuffling objects and stacks of paperwork around until he found what he was looking for. Turning toward the younger man, he held out a small glass jar. "I suppose you're here for this."

"Uh, yes, thank you," Baltar said, stepping forward to take it.

Floating in the clear liquid of the jar, was the implant which had been removed from Capt. Adama's head. It looked nothing like Gaius had expected it to. He had assumed it would look more like a computer chip, small and hard. It didn't. Instead, it looked more like a tiny jellyfish. A sickly grayish-white in color, it was a small, gelatinous mass with several, long, string-like extensions. It glittered slightly in places where it appeared that microscopic bits of metal were imbedded. Staring at it, Gaius felt slightly sick. Is this what the thing in my head looks like?

"So, do you really think that you can learn anything about the Cylons from studying this thing?" Salik asked, interrupting Baltar's morbid thoughts.

"Well, that's the intent anyway."

"Oh, come now, Gaius, what do you really hope to learn? Are you going to try to evict me?" Baltar ignored the low, sultry, slightly mocking, voice in his head, as well as the beautiful blonde woman who stood beside him, leaning close. He ignored the feel of her warm breath teasing across the skin of his neck. It wasn't real, he told himself. She wasn't really there, but apparently, she truly was in his head.

"Um, I-I notice that it has these... um, extensions," Baltar pointed out. "H-how can you be certain that you got it all out?"

"Well, yes, that was the tricky part. You see, it pretty much mimicked an organic brain tumor, which spreads by creeping into all the folds of the brain. Now because of this there is always a danger that you might miss something during the surgery. But I'm confident that we got all of it in this case," the doctor said, his voice reflecting his certainty.

"So, do you have any idea how the Cylon was able to... um, i-insert... t-this?"

"No. And that's the part that has me completely stumped. When we shaved the hair away from the site, we found no scarring, nothing to indicate any kind of previous surgery... I have no idea how it was done... Unless... considering what that thing looks like, it could be possible that it was introduced through a mucus membrane, the nasal passage, for instance. The Cylon could have-."

"Uh, thank you, Doctor, th-that's quite alright," Baltar interrupted quickly, feeling his stomach give a decided lurch.

"Oh, sorry, I get carried away sometimes, occupational hazard. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, of course. Uh, tell me something. If the implant was designed to mimic organic tissue, why did it make Capt. Adama ill?"

"Well, anytime you introduce a foreign object, organic or inorganic, into the human body, there's always the chance the body will reject it. That's what happened here. His body simply rejected the implant."

"Oh, I see..." He glanced briefly to the side, but saw that the blonde had conveniently disappeared. "Um, h-how is Capt. Adama doing, by the way?"

"He's recovering very nicely, better than I would have expected, in fact. The fever's gone, there don't appear to be any side effects, no more headaches, well, nothing worse than you'd expect after having someone cut a small hole in your head."

"So, did you find anything... unique about Capt. Adama's physiology which allowed him to override the commands of the implant?"

"Unique? No, but we don't really know how that thing works or what exactly it was supposed to do... But, off hand, I'd say that it was simply a matter of Capt. Adama having a stronger will than it did."

"Well, that's good to hear, thank you, Doctor. I'll keep you informed if I find anything useful," Gaius said, gesturing to the jar.

"Good luck with that."

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William Adama took a deep breath before he opened the door to Lee's hospital room. He had seen through the one-way glass that Mother Naomi was already there. She had requested to speak to both father and son at their earliest convenience, well Adama's convenience. Lee wasn't going anywhere for a while yet. He was still confined to his bed. While Salik had said that he was impressed with the young man's recovery rate, he was still concerned about infection and possible side effects, so he wanted to keep Lee a little longer for observation.

As he stepped into the room, Naomi looked up from where she was seated at the foot of the bed and smiled. "Ah commander, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us. Please, have a seat." She gestured to the plastic chair beside the bed.

As he lowered himself into the chair, she continued, "I've been meaning to get together with both of you to have a little family session for a while now, but I could never find the time. But I figured I should make the time after everything that's happened. I think you both have some things to say to each other and I think you're both going to need a little help in getting started... William, why don't you go first? Do you have something you'd like to say to your son?"

Adama cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, I'm glad to see that you're looking better."

When he said nothing more, Naomi prompted, "And....? William, your son pointed a loaded gun at your head. Somehow, I think you have more to say to him."

Adama stared at the priest blankly. Oh, there were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn't seem to force the words past his lips. His heart was pounding almost painfully and he realized that he was sweating. Lords, what the hell is wrong with me, that I can face two Cylon basestars calmly and rationally, but I can't seem to talk to my own son without having a panic attack? Surprisingly, it was Lee who finally threw him the lifeline.

"Why did you trust me?" the captain asked quietly.

"What?" Adama asked, confused by the abrupt question.

"After they brought me back from The Paradise, Tigh told me that you wanted to wait in the room with me, but he and Kelly wouldn't let you because they didn't trust me. He said that you did trust me. Why? I tried to kill you. Why would you ever trust me again?"

"But you didn't try to kill me. You pointed a gun at me, but you never pulled the trigger. Enoch threatened Laura and you still didn't pull the trigger. You had a Cylon implant in your head, telling you to pull the trigger, but you still didn't... Now, I admit that initially I didn't trust you. You had been acting strangely. You had become moody and volatile. That's why I brought Kelly and his men with me. But after I saw you fight back against Enoch, I knew that I could trust you, even with my life. Despite having Kelly take you into custody, I did trust you. I had to do that, you understand, but I trusted you and... I was very proud of you."

He saw Lee swallow noticeably, before the younger man looked down, suddenly fascinated with the weave of the blanket spread across his lap. Naomi laid a hand on Lee's leg, which lay beside her.

"Lee," she said gently. "Do you have something to say to your father?"

He nodded, but didn't look up. It seemed to take a moment for him to compose himself. When he did finally lift his head, his eyes seemed a little brighter than usual.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I feel incredibly foolish. You tried to warn me about Enoch and I didn't listen."

The commander gave a rueful smile. "I didn't exactly offer that advice in the most tactful way. I can understand you rejecting it. And it's not as if I'd been around to offer much advice in the past... I am sorry about that. I should have been there more for you and Zac."

"Are you ev-," Lee started to ask something, but quickly stopped himself. "Never mind."

"What?" Naomi spoke up. "What were you going to ask?"

"Nothing... it's not important and it's..." He didn't continue.

"Lee, whatever you're feeling is valid. Even if it's selfish or irrational, or 'out of line', if that's what you're feeling, it's valid. And it's always better to get it out in the open and deal with it, then let it fester below the surface, unspoken. Now, what did you want to ask your father?"

The young man took a deep breath, as though steeling himself for something unpleasant. "I know that you were always closer to Zac than... Are you ever... sorry that it was Zac who died and not me?" When he finished, he was barely speaking above a whisper.

Adama fell back against the chair. He felt all the air leave his lungs, as though someone had just kicked him in the chest. Is this what Lee had been thinking all this time? That I would have preferred him dead to Zac?

"Lee... God, no..." he breathed. "I never... I thanked the Lords every day that I still had one of you... I..." But he couldn't seem to put the strength of his emotions into words. So, he put them into action.

Standing, he moved to the bed and pulled his son into a fierce hug, cradling the back of Lee's head gently with his hand and carefully pressing the right side of Lee's face into his chest. After a minute or so, he felt Lee's shoulders start to shake as the captain finally surrendered to his tears. The commander continued to hold his son and murmured soft words of comfort, tears of his own starting to silently slip down his cheeks. He was only vaguely aware of Naomi standing and starting to leave.

"My work here is done, at least for today. I'll just leave you two alone," he heard her say. He distinctly heard a loud sniffle as the priest left the room.

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"My, my Gaius, I never would have imagined you as the sentimental type."

Baltar glanced to the side slightly. He could just see the faint reflection of the tall blonde behind him in the one-way glass, where he stood watching the emotional meeting between the two Adamas. The scientist resisted the urge to lash out at his incorporeal companion. He knew that it would be a wasted gesture, but he was truly not in the mood to deal with her mocking presence.

"I never got along with my own father," he said softly instead, his eyes never leaving the scene of warm paternal emotion before him. "He worked in a factory. He barely had a secondary education. We lived in a tiny apartment in a bad part of Caprica City. I always knew that I was destined for bigger and better things. And the fact is that I was always embarrassed by him. After I left for college, I never saw him again."

"So, is standing here and watching this maudlin, paternal melodrama, some sort of penance?"

Abruptly turning to face her, he asked, "So, did you know that there was a chance that my body might have rejected the implant you put in my head? That I could have died, like Capt. Adama almost did?"

"Yes, I was aware of the danger. It was a risk I was willing to take," she said with a slight shrug.

"Oh, I see. Your concern for me is quite touching," he said sarcastically.

"Gaius, what are you so upset about? Your body didn't reject it and you're fine. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you put one of those... things in my head. But, no matter, I've seen now that it can be overridden. If a person has a strong enough will, they can override the implant. And if that single-minded, testosterone-riddled space jockey can do it, someone of my intellect should have no problem."

"How do you know that?" the blonde asked. "The implant in your head serves an entirely different function than the one that was in the captain's head. I'm not trying to control you. I just want to communicate with you."

"Yes, so you say, but why should I believe you?"

"Because I love you," she said simply and sincerely.

"Well, you have a truly sick way of showing it."

Reaching out an elegant hand, she caressed his face. "One day you'll understand, Gaius, and you'll thank me," she said softly.

"Somehow, I very much doubt that," he said, jerking his head away from her touch and walking away, leaving her watching his retreating back, looking confused.

THE END

Author's note: Yes, I realize that this was a rather ambitious concept to undertake and I'm not entirely satisfied that I pulled it off as well as I would have liked, but thanks to everyone for their reviews. And thanks to Kaarlo for the chats which influenced the ending.


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